


Tiptoes

by Plagg



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, This Pairing Needs More Love - Freeform, i will at least make it fluffy, idk - Freeform, pance, pidgance, so if i have to singlehandedly provide it, theres a dog sometimes, tol and smol
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-22
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2018-07-26 03:30:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 22,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7558423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Plagg/pseuds/Plagg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lance bugs the heck out of Pidge. Pidge wonders why the heck she even bother having a crush on this giant loser.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. You have a crush on me? Aw!

Sometimes Pidge needed Pidge Time.  Everyone in the castle understood that a closed bedroom door, loud music, and no lights on meant Pidge needed to be alone.  That was easy for everyone to understand.  Everyone, that is, except Lance.  He’d been barging into Pidge’s room since Day 1 at the Garrison, thinking there was no possible way Pidge could ever not want to be with His Awesomeness. 

Truly, Pidge should feel honored that Lance chose her to hang out with over anyone else!

“Lance, get out!” Pidge yelled when the boy stepped into her room, throwing scrap metal at his head. See, this was the opposite of what Pidge should’ve done when graced with Lance’s presence.

“Hey, watch it!” Lance fussed before plopping down beside Pidge.  “Man, why are you always so grumpy?”

“Because you don’t let me work in _peace_ ,” Pidge tried, glaring daggers at Lance.

“No, no, that can’t be it…” Lance waved Pidge off, leaning back on his hands as he tried to think of what could possibly make Pidge such a grump all the time.  Then it hit him.  “Do you do that girl thing yet?” he asked, tugging the hem of Pidge’s shorts.

“Lance!” Pidge fussed, smacking his hand away.  “You don’t just _ask_ somebody that!”

“OK, OK, geez…” Lance laid down, crossing his arms behind his head.  He just wanted to help Pidge not be Universe’s Grumpiest.  He looked over when Pidge went back to work on their laptop, scowling at the headphones that blocked all music from him.  “So, what do you listen to?  Panic! At the Disco?” Lance asked before pulling the jack from the computer.  Surprisingly, Jayme Dee flooded the room with _Tiptoes_.  Pidge gasped and snatched the cord from Lance’s hand, shoving it back into the slot just to shut off the music.  “Aw, someone’s not as cold as she acts!” Lance teased.  He pulled himself closer, wagging an eyebrow in Pidge’s face.

“Shut up,” Pidge barked, pushing on Lance’s too-close face.  “It’s just a song.”

“Tell that to you blush,” Lance said with a snicker.  He reached a hand up to poke Pidge’s pink cheek, only to be slapped away.  “Does our wittle Pidge-y have a crushy-wushy?”

“Don’t you have someone else to bug?” Pidge tried, hiding behind the laptop screen.  For a moment everything was calm.  Lance sat criss-cross, stare concentrated on Pidge intensely.  For that short moment, Pidge was allowed to work.  But, then-

“It’s Shiro, isn’t it?”

“What?” Pidge looked to Lance with a confused look.

“You crush!” Lance explained.  “You have a crush on Shiro, right?”

“Ew, gross!  No!” Pidge jumped away from Lance, not wanting to play this game.  “Shiro’s like a second dad.”

“Yeah, you’re right…” Lance said mostly to himself.  Pidge tugged her laptop closer, eyeing Lance before going back to-

“Then it’s Keith!” Lance declared.

“Why would I like Edgelord McEmo?” Pidge deadpanned, not expecting an answer.

“Yeah, you’re right, he sucks…” Lance grumbled.  “Allura?” he tried.

“Nope.” Pidge said mostly to just please Lance. 

“Hunk?”

“No.”

“Coran?”

“You’re disgusting.”

“Well, we’re out of people!” Lance groaned and fell back on the floor.

“Can I not just like the song?” Pidge asked, finally looking over the screen at Lance again.  It was hard to hold in a giggle at the sight: Lance laid on his stomach, chin on his elbow as his feet tapped rhythmically on the tile.  He looked cute like that…

“You know you’re not that mushy just for fun,” Lance said, glaring accusingly at Pidge.  “So either you’re lying to me or I’m missing something.”

Pidge rolled her eyes, keying another line of code before Lance could play detective again.

“Where’s that diary of yours?” Lance asked, hopping to his feet.

Pidge froze, jerking her head to see Lance lifting the mattress.  “Hey, stop!” Pidge shouted, scrambling to Lance’s side just as he pulled out the diary.  “Give it!”

“Oh, so there _is_ something in here.” Lance held the book above his head, smirking at Pidge.  “Maybe one little peak-“

“I’ll kill you!” Pidge shouted, scrambling up Lance’s back to grab the diary.  “Don’t touch this!”

“Why won’t you tell me who you’re crushing on?” Lance asked, crossing his arms.  “You can trust me!  I’ll even talk you up for them!”

“Leave me alone…” Pidge dropped to the floor and sat on the diary, pulling the laptop over as a download finished.  Sometimes it was hard for Pidge to understood what she saw in Lance.

“Oh, Pidge is great!” Lance started, attracting Pidge’s not-so-subtle attention.  Pidge tried to make it sneaky, using her laptop to cover wandering eyes.  But, Lance ignored this.  “Got a robot problem?  Pidge’s got you!  Need someone to sass-battle for you?  Pidge!  Need a monkey on demand?  Well, Pidge has you covered in the _climbing_ department!  Need a sailor?  Pidge has a mouth like one!”

He peaked down at Pidge when he heard a giggle, smirking when she dipped her head back down.  Lance continued his exaggerated praises, dancing around the room dramatically until he was right behind the green paladin.  “But I think the best thing about Pidge…” Lance snuck his hands to Pidge’s sides, attacking with tickles.  “…is her laugh!”

“L-Lance!” Pidge squealed, bucking at the touch.  Pidge slid down on the floor and kicked the laptop as she thrashed about.  “S-stop it!” she said through laughter as she threw punches weakly at Lance.

“How about no.”  Lance snickered as he readjusted to tickle better.  He attacked poor Pidge’s ribcage mercilessly, occasionally switching to armpits or feet so Pidge could catch her breath.  Lance wasn’t sure he’d ever heard Pidge laugh this much, and he wanted to hear it more.  It was such a unique sound, somewhere between squirrel and lawn mower.  The smile Pidge wore suited her, too, much more than the scowl or frown or blank stare Lance had started to associate with Pidge.  He _had_ to prolong this experience.  Which was how Lance ended trying to blow a raspberry on Pidge’s stomach. 

Time seemed to freeze right then, and all of Pidge’s cute laughter ceased abruptly.  Neither of them said anything; Pidge was frozen in fear and propped against Lance’s knees while Lance was frozen in waiting.  Finally, Pidge moved.  However, she moved away from Lance, sitting up several feet away.  Pidge drew her legs up around her stomach protectively, refusing to make eye contact with the blue paladin.

“Pidge, I’m-“

“Stop.”  Pidge held out a hand when Lance moved to come closer. 

“I’m sorry, Pidge,” Lance said.  “I didn’t know that’d weird you out like it did…”

Pidge hated this, hated how upset Lance sounded and how upset she felt.  They were just having fun together, laughing, bonding, and then Lance had to go remind Pidge about the stupid crush.  What was worse, Pidge knew that for Lance that was probably super innocent and silly.

“Ughhh, this sucks!” Pidge yelled into her knees, pounding her shins with balled-up fists. 

The outburst startled Lance, who was already confused as it was.  But, he was hesitant to touch Pidge again.  No matter how much he wanted to help, he held himself back.  “You OK, Pidge?” Lance asked in a small voice.

Silence fell again and Pidge made no motion to get up or crawl over to Lance, so Lance thought it would be best if he left.  He got to his feet, but before he’d even gone two steps, Pidge grabbed his ankle.  Lance looked down at Pidge, who didn’t dare look him in the eye.

“Pidge?”

“You wanted to know who I have a crush on, right?” Pidge asked slowly as she got to her feet.  “You managed to name everyone but yourself when you were trying to figure it out…that’s what you were missing.”

“What?” Lance stuffed his hands in his pockets as he turned to face Pidge fully. 

“Don’t make me spell it out for you!” Pidge whined, glaring at the floor.  “I’ll take it back!”

It started to click for Lance, and he couldn’t help the goofy grin on his face.  Pidge had a crush on him?  So cute!  “I don’t think this is something you can just take back, Pidge,” he said, running a hand through Pidge’s messy hair. 

Pidge looked up, face bright red and eyes wide as dinner plates.  It took a lot for Lance not to laugh, but he managed.  Then, Lance pressed a kiss to Pidge’s cheek.

After a moment, the action processed in Pidge’s mind, but Lance was walking away.  “W-wait, don't go!” Pidge yelled after him, leaning up on her tiptoes before taking off after Lance.


	2. Crush? On MY Lance? It's more likely than you think.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge realized way back at the Garrison that she liked Lance. Problem was, Pidge really, really, didn't want to like Lance. Stupid cuddling, stupid horror movies, stupid sleepovers that weren't even allowed why don't these patrol guys watch more carefully.

“ALL STUDENTS RETURN TO YOUR DORMS, LIGHTS OUT IS IN 10 MINUTES.”

Pidge snuck down the hallway, hiding behind trashcans as guards patrolled the sleeping quarters.  Lance and Hunk had said for Pidge to come to their room before lights out, but the idiots gave no other details.  So, Pidge went reluctantly, knowing that if she were a no-show, Lance wouldn’t shut up for the next two weeks.

Once at their door, Pidge quietly knocked.  Hunk answered the door, raising a finger to his lips as Pidge entered.  The room seemed to be organized by piles of crap.  On Hunk’s side was two big piles of clothes, shoes, and towels and a slightly bigger pile of computer parts and blueprints.  On Lance’s side was the same piles of clothes, but with the addition of Nerf guns and unidentifiable crap that Pidge really didn’t want to discover lest it be sentient.  The middle of the room had scatterings of crumbs, paper, and what Pidge hoped were Mountain Dew bottles. 

Lance laid on his bed, phone pressed to his ear, which gave Pidge something to focus on that wasn’t The Smell.  “ _Sí, sí…_ ” Lance mumbled into the receiver, “ _Sí, Mamá, te amo demasiado…_ ”  Lance rubbed his face before looking to Pidge with an apologetic look. 

Hunk nudged Pidge’s shoulder to get her attention.  “His mom calls every night, but she was a little late today.”

Pidge nodded in understanding.  It was kind of sweet that Lance talked to her every night.

“ _Tengo que ir, Mamá…sí, sí, te hablaré mañana…_ ”  With that, Lance hung up.  He hopped to his feet to trap Pidge in a headlock.  “Heya, Pidge!  Glad you made it!” Lance gave Pidge a noogie before releasing them and falling to the floor.

Pidge groaned and fixed her hair before crossing her arms.  “So, _why_ am I here?”

“Sleepover!” Hunk exclaimed, heaving a box of DVDs onto his bed.

“Sleepover?” Pidge repeated a little less enthusiastically.  “Why?”

“Bonding time, little man,” Lance explained.  “Hunk and me grew up together, so we’re already all bonded up-“

“Never say that again.”

“-You, however, are still a mystery to us.  So, team bonding time!” 

“This is so stupid,” Pidge complained, throwing her head back.

“Aw, quit whining and choose a movie!” Lance pushed Pidge towards the box, snickering at her squeak.

“Why do I have to choose?” Pidge asked.

“Because you’re our special guest,” Hunk said.  Pidge groaned, but sifted through the options.  Eventually, she found a horror movie that would do just fine.  “I’ll get it set up,” Hunk said as he snatched the case from Pidge.

“Want a snack?” Lance asked, holding out a package of Oreos.

“Woah, where’d you get these?!” Pidge asked, snatching several up.

“My grandma sends care packages filled with junk food,” Lance said proudly.  Pidge nodded, spotting a bag of Doritos on the bed. 

“Dibs!” she shouted, lurching for the bag.  Lance grabbed at it as well, holding the bag above his head for Pidge to jump for.  “Lance, come on!” Pidge whined, leaning up on her tiptoes for the chips.

“What’s the magic word?” Lance teased, smirking at Pidge.

However, Pidge wasn’t having any of it.  Instead of offering an answer, she climbed the boy like a tree, taking the chips while he was still shocked.

“We’re all set if you two are done,” Hunk said, holding back laughter at the two.  He flopped down on the floor, using two pairs of jeans as a cushion. 

“Alright, dogpile on Hunk!” Lance shouted, jumping onto his protesting best friend.  Laughing, he looked over to Pidge.  “Hey, it’s not much of a dogpile if I’m the only one who does it.”

“Yeah, no thanks,” Pidge said.  She sat down on a clean spot, leaning against Lance’s bed.

“Partypooper!” Lance fussed, making Pidge scoff.

The three sat in mostly silence for the first half of the movie, but roughly about the time the dead started to climb out of their graves, Hunk started to snore lightly.  Pidge looked at the two boys and had to laugh at them.  Hunk had spread out like a starfish, which forced Lance off of him.  And, while Hunk had apparently gotten bored with the movie, Lance was shaking in fear.

Now, that should’ve continued to be incredibly hilarious for Pidge, but the next jumpscare didn’t just make Lance jump like _oh so funny, he’s such a wimp!_   No, instead, all the color in his face drained and a few tears filled his eyes.  He shook like a leaf, looking ready to flee at any moment.

Pidge couldn’t help but feel bad for him.  Lance should have said he didn’t like horror movies if they got to him this badly!  So, as the only other conscience one, Pidge crawled over to him.  “Lance,” Pidge whispered, tapping his wrist.

Lance jumped, which just made Pidge feel even worse for him.  However, he collected himself fairly quickly.  “What’s the matter, Pidge?” he asked quietly, leaning closer.  “Movie too scary for you?”

Pidge rolled their eyes.  “That’s funny coming from the guy who just about peed his pants.”

“OK, OK, you caught me,” Lance said, holding his hands up.  “I’m not a fan of horror movies…”

“Why didn’t you say something?” Pidge asked, biting her tongue to keep from tacking ‘idiot’ onto the end of that.

Lance shrugged, moving out from Hunk’s side.  “It was your choice,” he said, cringing when buzz saws started on the TV. 

“I could’ve chosen something else, you dummy.”

“Yeah, but this is what you wanted to watch.  It’s no big deal, honestly!”

 _Tell that to the tears in your eyes_.  Why did Lance have to be so stubborn?!  Pidge could’ve hit him for this!

“C’mon, let’s finish watching,” Lance said.  He’d crawled up on his bed and patted the spot beside himself. 

“Um…”

“No homo, dude.  It’s just for the movie!” Lance defended, floundering at the look Pidge shot him.  Figuring it would help Lance calm down, Pidge crawled up beside him, ignoring the hand on her waist.  “You’re really boney, dude.”

“Shut up,” Pidge groaned.

This was definitely not what Pidge imagined they’d be doing with the evening, but for whatever reason, she didn’t mind.  Lance was a living furnace, and his long limbs made Pidge feel unexpectedly safe.  The movie continued to drone on, but neither of them really paid much attention.  They rattled on to each other about home or teachers or just silly, random things.  Lance’s voice slowly deepened as they talked, roughening with fatigue, and Pidge was all but unaware of the effect it was having on her.

The sound of his sleepy voice was yet another odd comfort to Pidge, who snuggled mindlessly into Lance’s chest.  With her nose pressed to him, Pidge could take in Lance’s smell.  He smelled like cookies, mint, and some body spray he swore made girls fall in love with him.  Pidge didn’t know about _love_ , but the smell was really nice.  Almost piney, but salty at the same time.  A little florally, too.

All of this combined left Pidge feeling very cozy and sleepy.  A soft smile played on Pidge’s lips, one that she hoped Lance couldn’t see from his angle.  She couldn’t help but start to wonder if this could become a regular thing, just cuddling with Lance because it was so nice and he was so nice.

Wait.

 _What_.

Eyes suddenly wide open, Pidge gripped Lance’s shirt in a tight fist.  Pidge dug her toes into Lance’s leg, which made him yelp in pain.

“What the heck, Pidge?!” Lance wailed, rolling over to cradle his scraped leg. 

“S-sorry, Lance!” Pidge squeaked out, clamping a hand over her mouth.

“Wow, I fall asleep for half an hour and you two start a cuddle party,” Hunk said, attracting the other two’s attentions.

“I – maybe I should g-go…” Pidge stuttered, stumbling off the bed.

“What about our sleepover?” Lance called as Pidge threw open the door.

“Maybe next time!” Pidge managed, dashing out.  There was no way Pidge liked Lance.  He was annoying, stupid, kind, really gentle, sweet, and kind of cute now that she thought about it…

“Aghhh, get it together, Katie!” Pidge whined, smacking herself with balled up fists.  “You don’t like Lance, you don’t like Lance, _you don’t like Lance_.”  She dashed into her room, making sure the door was shut before jumping around and throwing anything that wouldn’t shatter.  On tippytoes, Pidge skidded around the room, failing at a nervous dance of sorts.

No matter what happened during their little bout of _cuddling_ , Pidge had to make sure these weird feelings went away.  She couldn’t afford a crush on someone as dorky as _Lance._

* * *

 

Meanwhile, in the boys’ room, Lance groaned into his hands.  “Man, Hunk!  He was _just_ getting comfortable with us!” He sat up, staring down at his best friend.  “Now he’s really scared for some reason…”

“Probably because of your gay moment together,” Hunk reasoned.

“It was just bro cuddles!” Lance defended.  “We bro-cuddle all the time!”

“Yeah, but was it the same?” Hunk asked.

“I don’t know!  Pidge obviously didn’t think so.”

With a laugh, Hunk commented, “Maybe Pidge has a crush on you or something.”

“This is no time for jokes, Hunk!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Pidge. Why must I put you through this


	3. Puppy Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance got a dog. Pidge was not too thrilled.

“Is that a dog?” Pidge asked the moment she stepped foot into Hunk and Lance’s room.  Because, the Garrison was in the middle of Arizona, dead of nowhere, miles away from any town where a dog could have possibly come from.  So, seeing a chihuahua on Lance’s lap, shaking in that way chihuahuas do, it was a bit of shock.

“Found her outside tied to a telephone post,” Lance explained, flopping back on his bed.  “You can hold her if you promise not tell.”

Oh, yeah.  There was that.  No pets allowed on school grounds.

But, Pidge still dug herself into this grave and stepped farther into the room.  “Where’s Hunk?” she asked, sitting down beside Lance’s foot to reach for the dog.

“He’s trying to sneak some food from the kitchen for this little girl,” Lance explained.  He pushed the dog gently toward Pidge, letting her rest a hand on the pup’s head.  Which is when it yapped.  Lance reacted quickly, slapping a hand over the dog’s mouth as his eyes widened.  “What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything!” Pidge hissed, a blush fighting its way onto her face.  The thought of Lance blaming this on her upset Pidge, and she could only blame it on the stupid crush.  Man, that damn thing got in the way.

Eventually, the dog calmed down enough to at least explore Pidge.  She crawled onto the girl’s lap, sniffing excessively.  Pidge had to push her away at some points, not wanting a _dog_ to out her cover.  Then, the chihuahua just curled up on Pidge’s lap and fell asleep.

“OK, how’d you do that?” Lance asked.  “I was trying for at least an hour to get her to calm down, and here you come, not doing a thing, and she just falls asleep!” 

“I don’t know?  It’s not like I was trying!” Pidge said.

Just then, Hunk came in, fussing away.  “You _guys_ , the door was open!  What if someone came by and saw a _dog_ in our _room_?!” 

“Relax, she’s so small that no one would even notice!  It would be like trying to find Pidge in a big crowd!” Lance reassured.

Pidge, however, was offended.  “First, I’m not that short!  You’re just freakishly _tall_!” she insisted.  “Second, if someone would’ve seen her, I’d get in the most trouble since she’s _on me_!”

“Well, wake her up!” Lance said.  Like magic, the dog stirred.  She lifted her head up and twitched her ears, yawning at Pidge before hopping down, opting to run for Lance.  “Hey, little _bebe_ ,” he cooed, picking up the chihuahua.  “You need a name, don’t you?”

“That’s a bad idea,” Pidge said, arms crossed.

Hunk agreed.  “You’re eventually gonna have to give her up, Lance.  We can’t keep a dog here.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right…” Lance mumbled, looking to the puppy in his arms.  She just yawned back up at him, making his heart swell.  “…but, she’s so cute, Hunk!” he whined.

“Lance, don’t make me hit you,” Hunk deadpanned.  “We can keep her until the weekend, but after that we need to take her to town.”

* * *

 

Pidge woke up one morning, about three weeks after Lance found the dog, to the sound of pounding on her door.  Groaning, Pidge clawed out of bed and found a suitable pair of sweatpants to yank on.  The desperate knocking continued, so Pidge threw in a “I’m coming, just _wait_!” as she shuffled to the door.

When Pidge opened the door, Lance stood with a lump in his jacket.  “Room inspection!” he said hurriedly, shoving the lump into Pidge’s arms.  “I’ll come back for Beso in half an hour!” he shouted, running back down the hall as quickly as he could.

Pidge could only blink, glancing down at the lump – which was, in fact, the chihuahua Lance was supposed to get rid of.  “Beso?” Pidge scoffed, “You poor dog…”  The door slid shut and Pidge flopped back into bed with the dog in her arms.  Only, Beso started to whine. 

“Oh, no, no, no!” Pidge covered her mouth to keep the whine muffled.  She was not equipped for dogsitting!  “Please don’t cry, you’re a dog, you’re not supposed to cry.  You’re supposed to be all happy and silly, not sad, so please don’t cry.  What does Lance usually do for you when you start this?  Oh, he probably has, like, the _magic touch_ and just has to look at you to make you stop…”

Surprisingly, Pidge’s rambling calmed Beso down.  Pidge looked down at the dog, brow furrowed.  “You’re weird, y’know.”

Beso clambered out of Pidge’s arms, taking to sniffing everything in the room.  “That’s my desk…that’s my dresser…that’s _personal_!” Pidge squeaked the last word, jumping up and grabbing her bag out from under Beso’s nose.  She hopped onto her tiptoes to jam the bag, filled with journal and family photos, up on the highest shelf of her closet.  Again, it would be just like a dog to tell everyone she was, in fact, a she.

Beso was unfazed, however, and continued to prowl the room for anything interesting.  Pidge sighed and flopped down on the floor, watching the pup go around curiously.  “Why does he still have you?” Pidge asked, not expecting an answer.  Beso looked at her, but only for a moment before she found a wad of paper to play with.  “I mean, Hunk said they were gonna take you to town _three weeks ago_.  You should be out of here…”

It explained why Lance’s and Hunk’s spontaneous Team Time had disappeared.  Pidge didn’t even realize how much she missed it until it just stopped cold turkey.  It was all _Beso’s_ fault.  She couldn’t help but feel a little bit of anger toward the dog.  And, Lance just sprung the dog on her?  No warning?  Granted, when it came to room checks there was no warning, but _still_.  Pidge didn’t even know the dog was still around! 

A knock interrupted Pidge’s thoughts.  She scooped up the dog and opened up to see Lance’s ecstatic face.  “Aw, my little _bebe_!” he cooed, which just barely pulled a blush onto Pidge’s face.  But, he was talking to the dog, evident by how Lance immediately tugged Beso from Pidge’s arm.  “It’s all safe now!” he continued to babble, holding the dog above his head.  That gave Pidge enough time to rub the blush off her cheeks and push down any jealousy that bubbled up because of the _dog_.  Then, Lance turned to Pidge with a big grin on his face.  “Thank, Pidge,” he said, letting his face soften from the initial shit-eating face.  “You really saved our butts, y’know.”

Pidge scoffed, pushing up her glasses.  “Well, you didn’t give me much of a choice,” she said, snickering when Lance rolled his eyes.  She could’ve fussed that he stole her signature look, but decided to keep that down. 

“Well, _whatever_ , come by later if you wanna watch a movie or something.  We got _Jurassic World_ when we went to town last weekend!” Lance said before ruffling Pidge’s hair and hiding Beso in his jacket so he could get back to his room.

Pidge watched him go, leaning out the doorway on one foot, confusion clouding everything.  They went to town…but, the dog was still with them.  Pidge felt conflicted.  She didn’t know whether to just be happy Lance was happy, or be angry because Lance had been stolen by a stray dog.  Eventually, she decided on both and ran to the boys’ room for movie night.  Of course, she still managed to inch the dog away and cuddle with Lance, anyway.  Because, for what it was worth, the dog was the only one in the school Pidge was bigger than, thus was the only one Pidge could push around.

And, for even more, Pidge wasn’t much on sharing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor, jealous little Pidge. Also, for those who don't know, beso is the Spanish for kiss.


	4. Dance Dance Fall in Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is dresses and dancing what could be better

Pidge watched as Lance peaked his head inside her room for the fifth time.  She had no idea what he was doing, or why he was trying to be so sneaky about it, but it was starting to get annoying.  So when he peaked around for the sixth time, she called him out.  “Lance, _what_ are you doing?” she snapped, yanking her headphones off of her ears.

The boy stepped inside with a grin on his face, one that made Pidge feel quite uneasy.  That couldn’t be a good look. 

“What’s wrong with your face?” she asked, sounding a bit cautious. 

“First of all, you love my face, and second, Allura told me and Hunk earlier that the people of the planet we’re headed to want to throw us a party,” Lance began.  Pidge sat her laptop aside, figuring any attempt at work was futile. 

“So?”  She leaned back on her hands, glaring at Lance when he plopped down in front of her.

“ _So_ , Miss Grumpy-umpolis, it’s a dance-dance.  Like all formal and stuff, apparently,” Lance explained.  “Allura said we should come find you guys and explain before we show up looking like walking trashbags.”  The comment made Pidge snort a laugh.  None of them could look like anything more than disappointments in the clothes category, so she wasn’t sure what Allura wanted out of them.

“So, what, we show up in the paladin uniforms?” Pidge assumed.

Lance shook his head, that mischievous smirk returning.  “Gotta get fitted,” he said.  It was hard to hold in his laughter as Pidge choked on air.  He stood, stuffing his hands in his pockets.  “Oh, and Allura wanted to know if you wanted a dress or no…?” he added.

“Uh…” What was she supposed to say?  It had been so long since she’d warn a dress…would it even feel right anymore?  And what would the others’ reactions be?  What would _Lance’s_ reaction be?  “Um, I think I’m gonna talk to her!” Pidge squeaked, bolting up and running out the door.

* * *

 

Later that evening, Lance peaked his head into what had turned into the fitting room.  Pidge stood on a stool with Coran circling around her and Allura tossing around old dresses oh so bubbly.  He had to bite his tongue to keep from being discovered, but he was honestly so surprised Pidge actually chose to wear a dress.  It was, if he was honest with himself, still hard to picture his little munchkin as a girl, so seeing her like this was…cool?  He didn’t have a word to describe why his chest tightened at seeing Pidge smile so brightly at every option Allura tossed at her. 

“Oh, here’s a green one, Pidge!” Allura practically squealed, lifting up the dress.  It was an olive green, had a heart neckline, and was _supposed_ to be on the short side.  And, it would have been on Allura.  Nevertheless, Pidge liked it.  Allura held the dress up to Pidge, wrinkling her nose as she thought.  “Coran, do you think if we brought it up to her knees it would be good?  Or maybe a little bit more?”

“Knees is good, Allura!” Pidge fussed, a blush on her face. 

“Yes, that should be good,” Coran said.  “Why don’t you go try it on, Pidge, so we can pin it up.”

Pidge snatched the dress from Allura’s hands and returned moments later in a dress that absolutely _swallowed_ her.  Lance giggled from his hiding place.  She looked cute with it as it was!  Coran should’ve just left it!  But, he synched the dress up and pinched the back so it wouldn’t be as baggy on Pidge. 

“What do you think?” Coran asked, shoving a mirror towards Pidge when he was done.

“Uh, it’s…great?” Pidge tried.

“That’s a pretty color on you, Pidge,” Allura commented.  “And the length is perfect.  As long as you’re happy with it, I think this is what we should go with!”

“It’s fine,” Pidge said with a nod.  Then she went to take off the dress as carefully as possible so as not to disturb the pins holding it in place.  She was right about a dress feeling weird after only pants for so long.

Before Pidge could leave the room, Lance bolted off toward the commons room.  He yelled to Hunk and Keith to act like he’d been there the whole time, landing roughly against Hunk’s shoulder just as Pidge came through.

“Oh, hey, Pidge,” Hunk said, never breaking his confused gaze from Lance.  “How’d dress fitting go?”

He only received an ‘ick’ from Pidge as she slunk out the room towards the bedrooms. 

Once she was gone, Keith questioned Lance.  “What’s wrong with you?  You came running in here like you set the castle on fire.”

Lance peaked over the sofas to make sure Pidge wasn’t standing there ready to murder him before responding.  “I kinda spied on the dress fitting thing,” he explained.

“What?” Hunk barely managed to suppress his laughter.  “Should I ask why?”

“I just wanted to know what she’d choose, I don’t know!” Lance’s voice slowly rose as he spoke, defense on high.  “The only time we’ve ever seen Pidge in a dress is that picture she has of her and her brother!”

“Yeah, that’s why you wanted to see Pidge in a dress…” Keith said, rolling his eyes.

“What’s that supposed to mean, mullet?!” Lance shouted.

* * *

 

“Knock, knock,” Lance said, tapping his knuckles to Pidge’s doorframe.

She looked up, dropping her headphones around her neck.  “What’s up?”

“You’re gonna miss movie night, Pidge,” Lance said.  “We found the Altean equivalent of the _Bee Movie_ , c’mon!”

“Maybe next week,” Pidge mumbled, slumping on her bed to hide her face.

Lance wrinkled his nose and stepped inside, crouching down beside Pidge’s bed.  “What’s wrong with you?  That’s, like, you’re favorite movie!” 

“I just don’t wanna watch a movie, Lance.”

“Oh, please, we both know that’s bull.”

Pidge dared to look at him, sighing at the serious glare set on Lance’s face.  “Fine…”  She sat the laptop aside and sat up, taking in a deep breath.  “This whole party thing is a dance…” Pidge mumbled, “and I don’t really know how to dance…”

“That’s all that’s wrong?” Lance said, relief on his face.

“Shut up!” Pidge shouted, a blush on her face.  “I’m gonna look stupid, that’s what’s wrong!”

Lance laughed, standing to his full height and offering a hand.  “You’re in luck, because I happen to be an _excellent_ dancer.”

Pidge stared at the extended hand, fighting the heat on her face.  This wasn’t a big deal.  He was just being Lance.  She cautiously took the hand, squeaking when he yanked her to her feet.  “Put your other hand on my shoulder,” Lance said gently.  Pidge glared as she reached, cursing genetics that made him so freaking tall.  Of course, that glare disappeared when she felt a hand go around the small of her back.

“This is really weird…” Pidge grumbled.

“Yeah, you’re right…hang on,” Lance let go of her and dove for her laptop.  He scrolled through the music library until he found what he knew was buried in there.  _Thinking Out Loud_.  “That should help!”  Lance said, a cheeky grin playing on his face.

“This is _even weirder_ ,” Pidge whined.  But, she still put her hands back where they belonged. 

“ _You’re_ even weirder,” Lance said, snickering.  If looks could kill, he’d be dead on the spot.  “Just follow my lead, OK?”  Pidge nodded, keeping her head down as she moved in time with Lance.  He kept the dance simple enough, not wanting to throw in dips or spins just in case he freaked Pidge out and she kicked him out of her room.  No, instead he kept it at simple circular steps and, it eventually just digressed into gentle swaying as totally-not slow songs spilled from the speakers. 

“This isn’t too bad, is it?” Lance eventually asked, breaking up the silence.  “Not too hard, huh?”

“I guess not,” Pidge said, shrugging.  She slumped against Lance’s chest, and he prayed that she couldn’t hear his heartbeat.  “Though, you didn’t do any of those spins or stuff.”

He scoffed and pushed Pidge off, still holding onto her hands.  “Oh, those are even easier.  _You_ don’t have to really do anything,” he said.  He pulled her closer, then pushed her away, then pulled her closer, and when he pushed off again, he let go of one hand and twirled Pidge.  She laughed and lifted onto one foot, clumsily falling back against Lance.  “OK, as long as you don’t _fall_ , you’ve got it!”

“Do it again!” Pidge giggled.

Lance felt his heart jump into his throat.  Dear god, she was cute.  Why didn’t he know Pidge was this cute?  It wasn’t just because he knew she liked him, right?  God, he hoped not. 

He complied, once again spinning Pidge around.  She once again lifted onto one foot in the midst of her spin, and once again fell against Lance.  “Again!” she laughed.

So, they went on like that for several minutes.  It became fluid, to the point where Pidge didn’t even have time to say ‘again’ before Lance was already twirling her.  However, Lance decided he didn’t want to twirl her anymore.  Not because he was tired of it, but because he wanted to see how Pidge would react to a dip.  So, when Pidge landed against his chest, he put his hand on the small of her back and leaned her down with their joint hands. 

Pidge gasped, not sure what to think about the sudden change.  “Um…Lance?”

“Hm?” Lance smiled down at her, an actual smile, not a smirk.  Pidge’s entire face lit up red, and she didn’t quite know what to do.  Panic set in when Lance started to lean in, and she was half tempted to knock their foreheads as hard as she could just to get out of this.  But the other half of herself really, really wanted Lance to kiss her because it would mean he liked her and that all the cute things he did weren’t just in her head.

Whatever decision she was going to make, however, was cut short.

“ _Lance_ ,” Shiro’s voice boomed form the doorway.

“ _Mierda_.”  Lance righted Pidge, dropping his elbow on top of her head.  “Hey, Shiro!”

“What were you just doing?” Shiro demanded, arms crossed.  Pidge was almost certain that his arm was glowing, but that could’ve just been fear.

“Just teaching Pidge to dance!” Lance said.  Shiro wasn’t quite buying it.  “Nothing was going on, I swear!”

Shiro looked to Pidge, who shrunk under the glare.  She couldn’t exactly say _nothing_ was going on, but she wasn’t sure _what_ it was that was happening.  So, she answered safely.  “Do you really think I’d let Lance get away with anything?” she deadpanned, pushing her glasses up and crossing her arms. 

Shiro lingered a moment longer, looking between them both before deciding Pidge was right, Lance would be dead if he tried to put a move on her.  Once he was gone, Pidge was able to let out the breath she’d been holding.

“Well, that could’ve been a disaster,” Lance said, glancing out the door.  “I’m gonna go before Shiro decides to murder me; see you in the morning!”

“Yeah, OK,” Pidge mumbled.  She watched him bolt out the door, then flopped onto her bed to thrash and whine and let out all the frustration. 

“Oh, one more thing!” Lance ran back in a minute later, holding back laughter at the girl.  He leaned down quickly and kissed her cheek before running back out.

Pidge sat frozen for a moment, letting what just happened sink in.  And, then, she let her pillow have it as she screamed.  Why was he like this?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pidge is screwed the poor thing.  
> Lance isn't much better...


	5. CONTINUITY

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the dance. They have fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not editing right now, will do later! I have to go to work!

The clothes all four of the boys were forced in to kind of sucked, in Lance’s opinion.  He was never one to dress up, one of twelve reasons he had been banned from his cousin’s wedding three years prior.  Each of them had dress shirts with the color of their lion and space-sports jackets which were oddly rounded at the hems.  Their shoes were some of the most _uncomfortable_ things Lance had ever put on his feet, and this was coming from the boy who had tied bratwursts to his feet to see if they made good skates.  Not all of his decisions were bright, ok.

But, seeing Pidge made all the discomfort so much easier to deal with.  Coran had done good; the dress came just above Pidge’s knees, and the skirt fanned out quite a bit, making the dress very _puffy_.  The bodice still had the heart neckline, but sheer straps had been added to hold the dress up, considering chest was something Pidge lacked. 

Lance thanked the God he prayed existed for this beautiful moment.  Then curse Coran because _she’s too cute, now!_

“What are you staring at?” Pidge asked, nervously shuffling her feet.

At that, Lance snapped out of his haze, a faint blush creeping up on his face.  “Sorry, not used to this…” he struggled to say, rubbing the back of his neck.  Pidge gave a tiny smile and looked away, bouncing on her toes.

That’s when they heard twins sets of gagging noises.  Behind them, Hunk and Keith stood gagging against each other, laughing when Lance glared. 

“Paladins!” Allura called, “It’s time to go!”

* * *

 

They had been at the party for roughly an hour.  Pidge ran off almost as soon as they arrived, having spotted a particularly _adorable_ robot with puppy ears and a trunk like an elephant.  But, now she sat behind Allura (said robot in her lap, she wasn’t giving it up for anything) just watching the boys.

Some of the aliens, of which had pink skin, bulky builds, and only three fingers per very-large hand, had gathered around Hunk and Keith to watch Hunk’s party tricks.  They seemed so amazed by the simplest of tricks, and frustrated by the ones they didn’t understand.  Meanwhile, Lance just stood to the side, watching Hunk go but not saying anything.  He was people-watching, too, wanting to join those on the dance floor, but not wanting to just grab some random alien and dance with them.

Then, he spotted one of the aliens heading towards Pidge.  Curious, he blatantly stared at them.

“Hi,” a voice said right beside Pidge. 

She jumped, whipping around to see who had scared her.  “Uh, hi…”

“Sorry for scaring you!”

“No, no, it’s fine!”

“I just saw you sitting with a Crumby in your lap and just…I-I dunno…”

Pidge giggled and patted the tile beside her, letting him sit down.  “Why’s it called a Crumby?” she asked, fiddling with the trunk as Crumby whizzed and beeped happily.

“Well, it’s a cleaning robot.  That tube is good for sucking up crumbs that fall on the floor.”

“Oh, OK.  Think it could pick up my teammates, too?” Pidge joked, laughing to herself.  “I’m Pidge, by the way.”

“Block.  You…You wanna dance?”

That caught Pidge off guard.  But, Block was nice and it was just a dance.  “Sure, I guess.”

Block stood up giddily, extending a hand to help Pidge up.  She took it and let Block drag her to the dance floor, Crumby falling not too far behind.

“What!” Lance squeaked, spitting his drink back into his cup when he watched the two walk away.  That guy just put the moves on his Pidge!  What a jerk!  Lance sat his cup down and ran off to hide behind a plant, eyeing the two like prey.  Maybe not the best analogy. 

Pidge and this _jerk_ were luckily dancing to a fast song.  He had ahold of her hands as they shimmied and jumped around, laughing up a storm.  The little robot Pidge ~~stole~~ befriended jumped around them and made noises that sounded a lot like barking, too.  This wasn’t fair. 

The song came to an end, and Pidge let go of Block’s hands.  “Well, that was fun,” she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.  “I think I’m gonna go-“

Block grabbed her by the wrist before Pidge could walk away.  “Why not one more song?  Please, Pidge?”

She groaned and dropped her shoulders, turning to see the pleading look on Block’s face.  Dammit, she hated herself sometimes.  “OK…one more song.”  Then, the music switched to something slow.  Great.  Block tugged her closer and put a hand on the small of her back. 

They were near the same height, so it was easier for Pidge to put her hands on his shoulders.  They dance calmly for at least a minute, just enjoying the music.  And then Block got brave.  He slid his hand down slowly, only for Pidge to grab his wrist and fix the hand back where it belonged.  Not that that stopped him.  He tried again, and had the same outcome.

“Seriously, Block?  Don’t do that,” Pidge said, huffing at the grin on his face.

“Ah, come on, I’m not doing anything,” Block said in a singsong voice.  He slid his hand down once again, and this time, Pidge strangled his wrists.

“I said _don’t do that_ ,” Pidge practically growled.  “Do you not understand what _don’t do that_ means?”

It didn’t take two seconds for Lance to reach Pidge’s side.  “What’s going on?” he asked with a booming voice, arms crossed.  Block’s face drained, and he ran.  That brightened Lance’s mood, and he looked down at Pidge to see pink on her cheeks.  “What’s the matter?”

“It’s nothing, don’t worry,” Pidge mumbled.  She tugged Crumby’s ear to get the bot to follow her, headed back to her hiding place.  Lance watched her go, and he felt a pang in his chest.  He wanted to go after her and bug her, make her smile again, but he waited.  He went back to Hunk and Keith and waited for Pidge to cool down.

Apparently, Pidge’s cool-down was going to take an hour.  Lance hadn’t expected it to take so long, but he wasn’t going to interrupt her.  He’d almost forgotten to check on her, and would have had she not suddenly grabbed his arm.

“You OK, Pidge?” Lance asked when she appeared by his side. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Pidge said, pushing up her glasses. 

Lance grinned down at her, which made her roll her eyes.  The music switched again to something slow, and Lance opened his mouth to ask if she wanted to dance, but he never got the chance.  Pidge took his hand and yanked him off to the dance floor herself. 

He had to try _very_ hard not to laugh, knowing if he did Pidge would yell at him.  Instead, he tried to make her laugh.  And there was a very good way to do that.  Twirls.

First one, Pidge stumbled in confusion.  She didn’t get to lift her foot in the spin, since it happened to so quickly, and when she fell against Lance’s chest, she glared up at him.  “Again,” she said sternly.

Lance had to laugh at her serious tone, but he complied.  Pull closer, push away, pull closer, push away, pull closer, spin!  That adorable smile popped up, and it only took one more spin to get Pidge laughing.  “Again, again!” Pidge laughed.  Lance spun her again, and they fell into their same rhythm from the night before where Pidge didn’t even have time to speak before Lance was twirling her again.  It didn’t even fit the song, but neither of them really cared.  They were having fun, and that was all that mattered.

Several songs later, Pidge was exhausted.  Lance showed her faster dances when appropriate songs came on, and they dissolved into giggles and random moves that did not even remotely fit the songs.  So, it was as much of a relief as saddening when Allura called for them to leave. 

She started to walk off, shoulders slumped and yawns slipping out, when Lance scooped her up.  “Lance!” Pidge shouted, clinging to his neck.  He held her princess-style, shit-eating grin nearly splitting his face.  Pidge glared and flicked his nose.  “Put me down!”

“Nah,” was the only thing Lance said.  He carried her all the way to the castle (with a struggle, obviously) and all the way to her room.  Pidge eventually gave up fighting him, too tired to exert that much energy.  Lance laid her down in her bed and took her glasses from her, running a hand through her hair as her eyes fluttered shut. 

The last thing Pidge remembered that night was Lance kissing her forehead, but maybe she imagined that part.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, tumblr anon, for your ~gentle encouragement~  
> I wrote the majority of this just listening to It's Almost Halloween on repeat.


	6. It's all fun and games 'til somebody falls in love, but you already bought a ticket and there's no turning back now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio goes to the fair.
> 
> Also I really should stop shitposting my titles.

Pidge crashed in her room, groaning as her face hit the mattress.  The beds at school weren’t the most comfortable, but after an entire day in simulation with Lance’s piloting and Hunk’s barfing, that bed was like a perfect cloud.  She tugged off her uniform and put on pajamas, damning the creator of bras as she flung the item across her room.  Research would have to wait, Pidge needed _rest_.

 _Knock, knock, knock_.

“Ughhhh,” Pidge groaned, pulling herself off her bed.  She slumped over and trudged to the door, which had Lance, Hunk, and Beso behind it.  “What do you guys want?” Pidge spat, pushing up her glasses.

“Dude, the Fall Fair starts tonight!” Lance said, sounding offended by Pidge’s question.  “Put on real clothes and let’s _go_!”

“Why should I?” Pidge asked, smirking when Lance’s face dropped.

“Team bonding, little man!” Lance said, stooping to be even with Pidge. 

Then, Hunk piped up, “He’s scared of going on rides alone, and I’ll puke if I go on, so-“

“Hunk, I’m _not_ scared!” Lance hissed, pushing his dog into the other boy’s chest.  “We just do everything as a team, or nothing at all!”

“How about nothing at all,” Pidge said, readying to close the door.  “I’m tired, so please just leave.”

As the door started to shut, Lance put his hand out to open it back up.  “I didn’t want to have to do this…” he said, stepping inside behind Pidge.  He scooped her up, tossing her over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold. 

“Put me down!” Pidge yelled, beating on his back with her fists.  “You’re not gonna kidnap me!”

“Are you gonna cooperate?”

“…I guess,” Pidge sighed once she was back on her feet, glaring up at the boy.  Why did she even like him, again?  She grabbed a green hoodie and yanked it on, not feeling like kicking Lance out just to find that bra she flung across the room.  The wonders of a small chest.

“Alright, let’s go!” Lance shouted as quietly as possible, snatching Pidge’s and Hunk’s hands to drag them out. 

* * *

 

The fairgrounds were lit up bright with neon, flashing lights bouncing off everything.  Blacklights made everyone’s clothes shine, and made the hat Lance wore look _very_ bright.

“OK, so if me or Hunk gets lost we just have to look for the Colgate Bright Bat Signal, right?” Pidge mocked, snorting a laugh at the look Lance shot her.

“Just for that, you’re riding the Scrambler with me,” Lance said, passing Beso’s leash to Hunk.  “And you’re in the squish spot!”

“Oh, this should be good,” Hunk laughed.  “I’ll be here, with the camera phone.  Don’t mind me.”

“You’re dead to me, Hunk,” Pidge deadpanned.  She didn’t put up much of a fight, however, to get in line.  The line went by quickly, and Lance and Pidge were on the ride before they knew it. 

“Inside seat, shorty,” Lance teased, lifting Pidge up at the waist.

“I can get in on my _own_ , beanpole,” Pidge spat. 

Lance laughed, hopping up beside her.  “You know, that might have been threatening if I couldn’t fit you in my pocket.”

“I hate you,” Pidge slumped, watching as the ride manager came by and made sure they were fastened in properly.  She blushed at the look sent her way, hoping to convey that Lance was not her boyfriend with just her eyes.  Dear god, the manager probably thought they were dating.

“Hey, don’t zone out on me!” Lance whined, elbowing Pidge.  “It’s not as fun to squish you if you’re not here!”

“You’re not gonna squish me that easily!” Pidge taunted just as the ride started to move.  Their seat spun, and it didn’t take 10 seconds for Lance’s shoulder to be up against Pidge, pinning her to the side of the seat.  Pidge squirmed, fighting to sit sideways and get Lance away.

“Smile!” Hunk shouted.

A flash took over Pidge’s vision, and when she looked up, she saw Hunk grinning evilly.

They spun faster, and this time Lance leaned to the side.  “Comfy there, Pidge?” he teased, elbowing Pidge’s ribs.

“Mooooove!” Pidge laughed, twisting to push his arms away. 

“Never!”

The ride only lasted a little longer, and then the pair had to get off.  Pidge laughed the whole time, struggling to stand once the ride stopped.  Lance laughed, too, but easily climbed off.

“Here, gimme your hand,” he said through snickers.  Pidge didn’t even think, she just took the offered hand and let Lance pull her down onto the ground.  They stumbled out, dizzy from the spinning.

Once they reached Hunk, they could see him shaking his head.  “You two are ridiculous,” he said, laughing.

“ _You’re_ ridiculous,” Lance countered.  Pidge ‘oohed’, which just encouraged Lance more. 

After that, they rode a rollercoaster, which was decidedly terrible and probably actually meant for five-year-olds.  Even Hunk could handle it.  Then, they found the Shooting Star.  Pidge gasped, staring up at the top of the ride.

“We have to ride it!” she shouted, grabbing Lance’s wrist. 

“What is it?” he asked, letting her tug him into line.  He watched as the group ahead of them lifted into the air slowly.  The ride stopped for a solid 30 seconds at the top, and then just dropped them, letting everyone bounce.  Lance gulped, not quite sure about this one.  “Uh, are you sure about this, Pidge?”

“We have one of these back home!” Pidge said.  “It’s awesome, even if last time I rode one some dude peed his pants.”

Oh, Lance was sure that that would be him in a few minutes.  They got on, jumping up into the seats and pulling the restraints down.  Pidge kicked her feet happily, too excited in Lance’s opinion.  He gripped the cushiony harness as tightly as he could, staring at his hat on the ground.  This was a bad idea.

“What, you scared?” Pidge teased, poking his hand. 

“Psh, no way!” Lance said.  That’s when they started to go up.  Lance watched as the safe ground grew farther and farther away.  The ride clicked when they reached the top, jarring everyone for a moment.  They could see everything from up there, even the Garrison.  “Holy crow, this is high!” Lance said, leaning back so his head rested against the back of his seat.  “I change my mind Pidge!”

Pidge peaked around the restraint.  She almost felt bad for dragging Lance on the ride.  So, biting her lip, she reached out and took one of his hands.  She squeezed it just as the ride dropped.

Lance strangled her hand as they plummeted, but it didn’t stop his girlish scream or curling toes.  “Holy _shit_ , Pidge!” he screamed.  The children beside him screeched and laughed happily, and Lance mentally cursed them for being so happy.  Lance was relieved when they finally got off, though he didn’t let go of Pidge’s hand until Hunk pointed it out. 

“Why don’t we do some of the games or something?” Hunk suggested.

“Yeah, that sounds fun,” Pidge agreed.  She honestly just wanted Lance to calm down, since she still felt bad about scaring him like that. 

So, the trio-plus-dog decided to just walk around for a while.  They ended up buying corndogs, cheese fries, ice cream, and way too many sodas.  So many so, that Pidge was practically bouncing off the walls.  “We should go play skee-ball!” she shouted, jumping on her toes.  “Or!  Or!  We could do the shooting games!  You shoot clowns!  Oh, what a dream!”

She giggled and ran off ahead of Lance and Hunk, who were honestly confused and slightly frightened.  “It only takes three sodas to make Pidge this hyper?” Lance said.

Hunk nodded, biting into the cone melting in his hands.  “We should probably go get him before he hurts himself or somebody else.”

“ _Puppy_!”

“Come on, let’s go!” Lance shouted, running in the direction of the whining dog. 

* * *

 

Pidge started to crash half an hour later.  She took up Lance’s offer of a piggyback ride, resting half asleep on the boy’s back.  It reminded her why, exactly, she liked this walking trashbag.  He was sweet.

At one point of Pidge slipping in and out of consciousness, she spotted a very fat, very ugly green dragon.  Said dragon had a purple belly and matching purple tongue, which dangled out the side of its mouth.  The sight made her squirm, which got Lance’s attention.

“Oh, dude, look at that dragon!” he laughed, crouching down to let Pidge off his back.  Hunk picked up Beso, who yapped in agitation.  “Yeah, yeah, _bebe_ , we’ll head back in a minute.”

“You wanna play?” the man at the booth asked.  Lance nodded enthusiastically, grin spreading. 

“How do I get Sir Tonguesy the Dragon?” Lance asked, pulling out his wallet.

“Pop five balloons,” the man explained.  Lance paid for five darts, and took the foot step back to the red line. 

“Are you sure about this, Lance?” Pidge asked, leaning against the counter. 

“Psh, I’ve got this!” Lance said.  “Back home I killed at this game.  They called me Bullseye Boy ‘cause I never missed!”  Pidge looked to Hunk, who just rolled his eyes and shrugged.  Great, this would be embarrassing.

Lance raised the first dart, leveling it with a blue balloon in the middle of the board.   _Pop_!  He leveled the next dart with a yellow balloon.  _Pop_!  The next three, _pop, pop, pop_!

“Well, I’ll be!” the man in the booth exclaimed.  “Alright, then, son!  Which one did ya want?”

Lance looked down at Pidge, who jumped under the gaze.  “Which one?” he asked.

“Uh…” Pidge glanced from the prizes to Lance, not sure what to say.  “What?”

“Either you tell me, or you get the pink one,” Lance threatened.

“Th-the green one!” Pidge squeaked, tugging on her hoodie.  Lance received the prize, then unclipped the magnetic hands and hooked it around Pidge’s neck.  “Thanks, I guess…”

* * *

 

None of them anticipated how difficult it would be to get a 4-foot fat dragon inside without being spotted.  They weren’t supposed to be out at midnight, so they had to sneak around.  Luckily, Pidge was small enough to hide the dragon when she crawled.  Unluckily, the dragon bobbed with her shoulders. 

But, they eventually made it to the dorms.  “See you guys tomorrow,” Pidge said as she opened the door to her room, still holding the claws of the dragon. 

“Seeya, Pidge!” Hunk said, headed back.  But, Lance hung back a moment longer, Beso still in his arms. 

“You had fun, right?” he asked.

“Uh, yeah?” Pidge said, “Why do you ask?”

“Well, you always just seem really grumpy…” Lance kicked the air, not looking at Pidge.  “I just wanted to make sure you had fun at some point.  “Maybe thought you wouldn’t look so mad all the time…”

Pidge smiled, leaning over to hug him.  “Thanks, Lance,” she whispered, burying her face in his side.  “You’re great.”

Lance scoffed, “I know that, shorty.”  Pidge rolled her eyes, but she didn’t move.  Lance rubbed her back quickly, kissing the top of her head.  Then, Beso jumped out of his arms.  Lance let go of Pidge and ran after his dog.  “ _Nonono, get back here bebe!”_

Pidge snickered and shook her head.  In her room, she sat Sir Tonguesy down at the head of her bed, smiling at the stuffed animal.  It was a lot like Lance, when Pidge thought about it.  Goofy, silly looking, but still incredibly comforting.  As she climbed into bed, Pidge pressed a kiss to Sir Tonguesy’s nose and wished him goodnight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This turned out better than I thought it would so yay.
> 
> Also, you can follow me on tumblr @pidgesheadphones if ya wanna I ramble about nonsense and this beautiful ship all the time. haha I have no shame in self-promoing.


	7. Walk Walk Fashion Baby Work it Move that Pidge is Crazy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beso is subjected to fashion torture and Lance has no clue he likes Pidge.

Pidge plopped down on the floor in her dorm, sighing as she pulled her laptop closer.  She’d just finished building the thing the day before, so now it was time to see if it could actually work.  She held down the power button until the screen lit up, smirking as the machine whirred to life.

“OK, headphones on…music up,” Pidge mumbled to herself as she got situated, slouching on the floor with her music blaring in her ears.  “Let’s get started.”

Not a minute later, her phone lit up and vibrated beside her as not one, not two or three, but _six_ messages from Lance popped up.  Groaning, Pidge picked up her phone to read the messages. 

_From: Lancelot  
Doggy fashion show!!!!_

The next five texts were pictures of Beso, each one with her dressed in some new outfit and the biggest puppy grin Pidge had ever seen.  What had he done to this poor dog? 

In the first picture Beso wore a plastic grass skirt and coconut bra with the caption “luau!” underneath.  The second picture had that poor dog in a ‘coon cap and one of Lance’s plaid button ups simply captioned “she’s goin wabbit huntin.”  Third image, Beso had on a pink bunny suit, complete with bunny ears on top of her head.  The caption read “caught a bunny, but I don’t think it’s happy.”  Fourth photo had Beso in a pink onesie with a tutu and tiara and the caption “fairest princess, don’t you think?”

The last picture was probably the worst one, however.  Poor little Beso wore a fabric space helmet as well as a white onesie covered in fabric paint that was supposed to make it look like a pilot suit.  Pidge had a hard time keeping it together, hand covering her mouth as she tried to read the caption.

_She will be the best fighter pilot, and  
she will defend our galaxy_

_NO NO NO!_

_The entire universe!!_

Pidge rolled her eyes, opening up the text box to respond.

_I feel so bad for that dog_

_Why are you torturing her like this???_

_It’s not torture when she loves it_

_I highly doubt she liked being a bunny_

_My dog, I can do what I want_

Pidge didn’t respond.  She had work to do; she couldn’t sit there all evening and chat with Lance about animal abuse.  No matter how much she welcomed the boy’s company, her primary concern had to be finding her dad and Matt. 

Which is why she let out a loud whine when her phone buzzed again.  But, she still checked the text.

_Dogs can eat oreos, right???_

_…Lance that’s chocolate  
dogs aren’t supposed to eat chocolate_

_SHIT_

_LANCE I S2G IF YOU FED THAT_  
_DOG CHOCOLATE_  
 _I’M GONNA STAB YOU_

_SHE STOLE IT FROM ME  
WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO???_

Pidge shut her laptop and hopped up, running out the door with her phone in hand.  How could Lance be _this_ stupid?!  She barged into the boys’ room where Lance sat on the floor with Beso, who kind of looked downright drunk.  Pidge dropped down beside the dog, pushing her chin up with a finger.

“She doesn’t look like she’s gonna kill over…” Pidge mumbled.  She picked up the dog and patted her stomach, which didn’t gurgle or otherwise sound wrong. 

“She spit up some, but now she just looks like my uncle Luis when he’s had a couple beers…” Lance said, reaching over to pet his pup. 

Pidge nodded and sat Beso down, pulling out her phone to google “can dogs eat oreos.”

“OK…” Pidge sighed in relief before speaking, “So, dogs _can_ technically eat oreos since there’s not much actual chocolate in them, but if she eats too many she’ll just be really fat and sluggish and useless.”

Lance nodded and picked up his dog, cuddling her to his chest.  “That’s good…don’t scare me like that again, OK, _mi pequeño angel_?"

Pidge made a barfing face, which just earned a glare from Lance.  “Dude, it’s a dog, not a baby.”

“But she loves being baby-talked,” Lance cooed, rocking as he rubbed Beso’s ears. 

“You’re insane…” Pidge grumbled, pushing up onto her feet.  She made for the door, intent on leaving to go work.  She might have been able to, had Lance not hooked her ankle with his foot.  Pidge stumbled and flailed, falling back against a wall.  “What gives?!”

“You should staaaay,” Lance whined.  “Hunk’s coming back soon with pizza!  C’mon, movie night Sir Grump!”

“Lance, I’m busy,” Pidge said, sliding the door open.

“You’re not too busy for _movie night_ , little man!” Lance popped up, using his unoccupied arm to yank Pidge down with him, moving them out of the way as Hunk came through the door.

“You actually got Pidge to come down here?” Hunk asked, amazement in his voice.  “Didn’t think you could do it!”

“Oh, please, Hunk!” Lance waved him off, crossing his legs overtop of Pidge’s to keep her down.  “I’m, like, the _Pidge Whisperer_.”

Neither Hunk nor Pidge bought that, but it was two against two since Lance insisted that Beso agreed with him.  But, since Pidge was already trapped there, she took some pizza and watched _Shrek_ with her boys.  And if she happened to fall asleep on Lance halfway through the movie, well she was just happy he didn’t move her off.

She couldn’t see the smirk Lance shot Hunk, who rolled his eyes and petted the dog beside himself.  Lance didn’t know why he loved having his tiny buddy in his arms so much.  He wasn’t gay or anything, so this had to be completely platonic, right?  Right. 

Now, if only he believed himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I blame this entire chapter on usachanbeccer for filling my head with Black Paladin!Beso jokes last night.
> 
> I hope you all love Beso as much as we do.


	8. *gagging noises*

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge has a nightmare and goes to Lance for comfort.

How had she lost them again?!  They had been just standing right in front of her, and then they disappeared!  Pidge growled in anger, pumping her legs as she ran through the halls toward God knows where.  She was not about to give up, not now! 

“Katie?”

Pidge gasped, spinning around.  Tears filled her eyes, and a smile took over her quivering lip.  “Matt!  Dad!”  There they stood, arms open and happy smiles spread as far as they could manage.

She ran towards them and yanked off her helmet before opening her arms for a hug.  But, in the time her vision was covered, they disappeared again.  Pidge paused, glancing around.  “Matt?  Dad?” she called.  “Matt!  D-Daddy!”

The longer she spun around, the darker everything became.  All corners of Pidge’s vision were taken over by blackness, leaving no light and no hope.  That’s when she started to sob.

“C-come back, please!” Pidge cried.  She took off running again, and everything felt like it was heading down hill.  Down, down, down until Pidge started to fall.  She could hear crying all around, and she could hear what sounded like her team and her family, but she couldn’t see anything.  Finally, she felt impact.

And, Pidge bolted straight up in bed, sweat all across her forehead.  She panted and heaved as she tried to calm down.  She patted her bed and touched her face, then stood up to grab her helmet and then just sit in the floor.  All of it was a dream.  Oh, god, she wanted to cry. 

How she’d been able to _imagine_ her father and brother beat so badly, covered in so many ugly scars, and broken so horribly…Pidge started to tremble.  Her hands shook as she ran her fingers over her helmet, and she didn’t even realize she’d started to cry until a drop fell onto the back of her hand.

Pidge sniffled and wiped her nose and eyes.  She struggled to get back onto her feet, and then hit the button to open her door.  She continued to wipe at her face as she went down the hall, only pausing when she stood in front of _his_ door.  Lance could help her feel better, she knew that.  He could make her smile, take her mind off her family, _do something_ so characteristically Lance that Pidge would have no choice but to feel better.

Yet, with her hand raised to knock, she froze.  What was she thinking?  Lance had his own problems to deal with.  She couldn’t bother him over a nightmare!  No, she’d have to deal with this on her own.

“Pidge?” Lance called through a yawn.

Pidge jumped, looking up at the concerned face staring down at her.  She couldn’t help it; her lip began to quiver and she tossed her arms around Lance’s middle, wailing into him. 

“Woah, woah, woah,” Lance took her wrists and pushed her back slightly so he could see her face, “Pidge, what’s wrong?”

“M-m-maaa…D-dad-d-d…” Pidge choked on her words, hiccups preventing her from speaking.

“Hey, it’s OK,” Lance pulled her into a hug and just let her cry, running his hands through her hair.  He back-pedaled them to his bed, sitting down and letting himself become a chair for the girl.  They just sat there like that: Pidge crying into Lance’s collar and Lance rubbing Pidge’s back in an attempt to comfort her.  Neither said anything; there was no need to. 

Eventually Pidge started to calm down, softening her cries until they were nothing more than quiet whines.  Lance kissed her head and moved her off of him, sitting her beside himself so he could stand.

“N-no!” Pidge grabbed his wrist when he tried to walk away, and her scared face broke the boy’s heart.

“I’ll be right back, promise,” Lance said, smiling as gently as he could.  He kissed her hair again, ruffling it before he left the room.

Internally, Pidge beat herself up.  This wasn’t supposed to happen.  She was supposed to handle this on her own, like usual.  Did he just _sense_ her standing there or something?  Lance didn’t need to worry about her, and he damn sure didn’t need to think she broke.  Oh, god, he thought she broke, didn’t he?

“Here, drink something,” Lance’s voice came through her fog again.  Pidge looked up to see Lance standing on front of her, two cups of water in his hands.  She accepted the one held out for her, mumbling a ‘thanks’ as Lance sat back down.  “Feel a bit better?” Lance eventually asked.

Pidge gave him a small nod, scooting over to rest her throbbing head on his shoulder. 

“You wanna talk about it?” Lance asked, lacing their fingers together.  Pidge shook her head and took another sip of her water.  So, they didn’t talk about it.  They just sat there in each other’s company, neither daring to move lest they break whatever comfort had been made.  Lance could tell whatever Pidge had dreamt had really upset her, but he knew better than to press for details.  But then, Pidge started to speak.

“I dreamed about my brother and dad again…” Pidge whispered.

Lance looked down at her as well as he could, moving an arm to wrap around Pidge.  “What happened?” he asked.

Pidge took in a shaky breath, running her thumb around her cup.  “We found them, but I lost all of you guys.  I ran after them, but whenever I would get close, they disappeared.  I could hear them, but everything turned dark.  There was n-noth-thing…”

“Well, it won’t be like that when we actually find them, right?” Lance started.  Pidge said nothing, so he continued.  “When we actually find them, they’ll probably be a bit beat up, but they’ll have the biggest smiles on their faces because _you’re_ there and we’ll be able to kick Galran butt and take them back here.  That’s what’ll actually happen, right?”

“I don’t knooooooow,” Pidge whimpered, burying her face in Lance’s shoulder.

“Well, I know,” Lance smiled and ran a thumb over Pidge’s cheek.  “It’s gonna be OK, Pidge.”

“You…you can say K-Katie.”

Lance took her cup and set it on the floor beside his, laying down with Pidge.  “OK, Katie, everything’ll be just fine.”

Pidge curled up against Lance, not for the first time feeling safe with him.  Lance pet her hair again in an attempt to lull her to sleep.  “Thanks, Lance…”

“It’s no problem,” Lance snickered.  He knew Pidge probably hated doing this, but she needed someone.  He was just happy she chose him, even if she might’ve retreated if he hadn’t needed a drink so badly.  Pidge’s breath evened out, clicking with each exhale.  The worried wrinkles on her brow smoothed out, and Pidge looked so much calmer.  “I love you so much, y’know…” Lance whispered, smiling at the girl in his arms.  There.  He’d admitted it.  Granted, she was asleep, but he’d said it.

Pidge stirred, eyelids fluttering.  She sighed and tightened her grip on Lance’s pajama shirt before mumbling out “Love you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't write angst/hurt-and-comfort for shit, but at least I tried. I just had the idea and I don't think it would've left me alone until I wrote this!!! So!!! Take the worst chapter of this fic so far!!!


	9. *barfing rainbows and unicorns*

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Pidge have a little talk after they wake up.

Lance woke up that next morning with Pidge still curled up in his arms.  Her knees pressed into his stomach lightly, and her hands held onto his shirt so tightly that any movement on his part would wake her up.  She looked so peaceful, so calm, so not like someone who just heard their crush admit their feelings 7 hours prior.  Maybe she wouldn’t remember. 

His heart skipped a beat as Pidge started to stir, and it jumped into his throat when her honey colored eyes fluttered open.  But, he pushed it down and recovered quickly, smiling sleepily down at Pidge.

“Mornin’, Pidge,” he said, rolling onto his back.

Pidge grumbled and clawed her way onto his chest, curling into a little ball as she fell back asleep.  Well, that was not the intended outcome.  Oops.

“Piiiidge,” Lance drew out, running a hand through her hair. 

“Pidge’s not home right now,” the girl mumbled, “leave a message and she’ll never get back to you.”

Lance snorted a laugh, hauling himself into a sitting position.  “Pidge, either we do this the easy way, or the hard way.”

Pidge paused for a moment, mulling over her options.  If she got up willingly, then she’d lose her heater and Lance’s hand would leave her hair.  If she stayed put and took the ‘hard way’ she’d either get tickled or carried.  Where was the downside?  She snuggled into his stomach, deciding she’d chance the ‘hard way.’

Lance snickered, slipping a hand under her knees and the other on her back.  He stood, kicking the button that opened the door.  Pidge went limp, deciding to make this as difficult on him as possible.  “Pidge, I swear I will _drag you_ by your feet if you don’t _help me here_!”

Pidge giggled and wrapped her arms around Lance’s neck, which is when Shiro came out of his room.  The look he shot the two of them was one between confusion, uneasiness, and possibly anger but that might have just been Lane’s _I’m dead_ instincts kicking in.  Those instincts were also what propelled him into Pidge’s room in two seconds.

“See you at breakfast if I survive!” Lance shouted after dumped Pidge on her bed, bolting out the door quickly. 

Pidge groaned and sat up, staring at her door.  Why had he scrambled like that?  She shrugged, chalking it up to Lance Is Weird. 

* * *

 

Pidge was finally fully awake by breakfast, and she found it hard to look Lance in the eye.  She’d spent the entire night in his room, in his _bed_ , _with him cuddling her_.  She’d told him about her nightmare, and she’d told him her real name.  Not to mention he’d said that he _loved her_.  Her whole face burned just thinking about it.

But, the more Pidge thought about it the more she degraded the “confession.”  Lance used _love_ pretty liberally.  He’d told Hunk countless times that he loved him.  Allura heard it at least every other day.  Shiro’d heard it a couple of times.  Heck, even Coran and Keith weren’t excluded from Lance’s Love.  He probably didn’t mean for her to take it the way she did but how could she _not_ , considering that he knew about her crush and he’d been flirting with her more and more ever since. 

She’d told him, too, but she hoped now that it was interpreted as “like a sibling” so it wouldn’t be so awkward.  Why, oh, God, _why_ did she tell him?!

Pidge felt something knock against her foot.  Looking up from her plate of picked-at food, she saw Lance sitting across from her with concern on his face.  All she could do was shake her head and look back down, hoping he understood that, as far as he needed to be concerned, she was just fine. 

It seemed, however, that Lance wasn’t satisfied with that.  He knocked her foot again, watching as the girl flinched and retracted her foot.  Lance furrowed his brow, trying to figure out what was wrong with Pidge.  Nothing had happened…unless she _remembered_.  Shit, she remembered, she had to.  This wasn’t good!

He had to do something silly, something to pull a smile back on Pidge’s face until he could talk to her.  Not only did he hate seeing Pidge so upset, but Shiro would eventually notice and kick his ass if he didn’t fix this.  So, Lance slumped in his seat and scooted down until he could _just_ reach Pidge’s foot.  He knocked it.

Pidge looked up at him and glared, which was a victory in his book.  So, he did it again, scooting down even farther so he could kick her foot easier.  He got a giggle!  Lance tried to scoot a little more, cursing the table for being so wide, but he scooted himself right off of his chair.

“Ow!” Lance yelped, rubbing his poor bottom. 

“How did you just fall like that?” Keith asked, smirking a little from where he sat.

Lance shot a glare up at him, clawing his way childishly back onto his seat.  “It wasn’t my fault,” he said, sticking his tongue out at Keith.  He looked back over at Pidge, who was giggling like mad and, _yes_ , he’d made her happy again!

“I’m pretty sure playing the worst game of footsie ever makes it your fault, Lance,” Hunk teased, dodging the food-goo bomb aimed for his head. 

“Alright, finish eating and quit goofing off, we’ve got training in half an hour,” Shiro fussed.  They all slumped, shoveling food in their mouths quickly. 

* * *

 

Before Pidge could bolt away after breakfast, Lance shot up and snatched her arm. 

“Let go, Lance!” Pidge yelled, struggling to peel the boy’s fingers off.  “I’ve got to go get ready!”

“Can we talk for a minute first?” Lance asked.  His heart dropped when he saw the girl tense, and he knew he had to fix this.  He pulled them into the common room, plopping down on the floor.  “What’s wrong?  You’ve been acting weird all morning.”

Pidge snorted, smiling through what she considered to be awkwardness.  “I just…” she had to take a breath to build up her courage, knowing this would be embarrassing.  “Last night, before we fell asleep, you said that you love me.  I know that you probably meant ‘like a little sister’ and I know that you throw that word around like it’s nothing but…”

“Pidge,” Lance called, scooting a little closer so their knees touched, “Katie, when I said that, I thought you were asleep.  I didn’t think I could actually say _that_ to you when you were awake because…because _I love you_ , not just ‘oh I love you, kid’ like with Hunk.”

Pidge blushed, refusing to meet Lance’s eyes.  “You promise?” she whispered, almost too quietly for Lance to hear.

He took up one of her hands, pressing a kiss to the knuckles.  “I cross my heart.”

“O-OK…” Pidge giggled.

“…hope to die, stick a needle in my eye.”

“Lance.”

“Hey, you love all of this, too,” Lance said with a smirk.

“Not anymore.  I take it all back,” Pidge deadpanned as she leaned up on her knees to hug the boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is sickening, truly. Lance is such a loser.


	10. Who ya gonna call?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's something strange in Lance's closet. There's something weird happening to Beso. Who ya gonna call?  
> GARRISON TRIO!  
> They ain't afraid of no ghosts.

Pidge sipped her energy drink as she headed down the hallway back toward her room.  It was finally Friday, which meant she finally had two whole nights to just look for her dad and brother.  She ran through her plans in her head, twisting the handle of the bag of junk food in her hand. 

But, when she looked up at her door, Hunk stood leaning against it. 

“What’re you doing here, Hunk?” Pidge asked, taking yet another sip of her Rockstar. 

“OK, so our room might be haunted,” Hunk said, hands clasped together and fear on his face.

“What do you mean?” Pidge asked, hiding her snickers with the can in her hand.  “Casper the Friendly Ghost pay a visit or something?”

“No!” Hunk spat in offense, crossing his arms.  “Look, Beso has been going crazy for, like 3 hou-“

“ _Beso_?” Pidge repeated, not able to hide her laughter.  “You guys are going off of the dog that lives off of oreos and gummy worms?”

“ _Yes_ ,” Hunk answered, turning his head away.  “For your information, dogs have better senses than humans, so it’s very possible that she can see things we can’t!”

“Oh, I have no problems believing she sees things we can’t,” Pidge giggled.  “Why are you telling me this, anyway?”

Hunk took a breath, knowing this request would sound silly, but Lance insisted.  “OK, Lance wanted to know if you would come help us get rid of the ghost.”

Pidge nearly spat out her drink, coughing up the sip she’d just taken.  “ _Why_?” she asked.

“He’s convinced you’re a paranormal expert or something, I don’t know!”

“I’m not playing _Ghostbusters_ with you two all night; I have stuff to do,” Pidge said sternly, opening her door and slipping inside, staring Hunk down the whole time the door slid shut.

* * *

 

Pidge grumbled and whined from where she sat on the floor of Lance and Hunk’s room.  Beso hadn’t stopped pacing the floor for apparently 5 hours.  Pidge had only been there for half an hour, yet she already wanted to strangle the little dog.  Lance had come to her room and practically dragged her out, teary eyed and panicked about the Evil Demon-Ghost-Poltergeist he insisted was haunting the room. 

“OK, the Kinect is all set up, Lance,” Hunk said from his bed, showing his laptop to the boy.  “Now if anything passes by the sensor, it’ll show a little stick figure, and if it’s not one of us, we know it’s the spirit.”

“That’s _awesome_ , Hunk!” Lance praised, diving for the floor to play with the equipment. 

“I can’t believe you stole my Xbox for this…” Pidge groaned, flopping down against the floor.  Beso ran over and licked at her face before darting back to the closet and pawing at the floor.

“What is it, _bebe_?” Lance cooed, diving for his dog.  “Is there something in there?”

“Probably your dignity…” Pidge said.  She scooted over on her knees, leaning over Lance’s shoulders to peek inside.   “Why would a ghost be in your closet, anyway?”

“I don’t know!” Lance said, falling back on his bottom.  “Maybe it’s, like, a Native American or something that wants revenge and wants to kill everyone in the school for taking its land or something!”

The look Pidge shot him made him defensive, and Lance desperately hoped Pidge didn’t think he was a gigantic idiot for believing in this stuff.  “I-It could happen!” he ended up squeaking out before jumping to his feet and rejoining Hunk on his bed. 

* * *

 

Around 3 in the morning, they were all awoken by Beso’s barking.  Lance shifted Pidge’s grumpy, sleepy butt off his lap so he could go get his dog.  “What’s the matter, Beso?” he cooed, picking her up gently.  She bit his hand.  “OW!”

Pidge and Hunk bolted up on the beds, jerking their heads in the direction of Lance’s cry. 

“Beso’s been possessed!” Lance shouted, clutching his wrist in his hand.  The dog growled at the floor and pawed furiously at the closet, yapping at shirts and shorts as they fell.  “Hunk, check the camera!”

“There’s nothing on it, dude,” Hunk said.  “Just you and Beso are showing up.”

“That’s because there’s no such thing as ghosts…” Pidge commented to herself.  At that moment, a gust of wind blew over Pidge’s shoulders and sent her diving for Lance’s side.  “I take it back!” she screeched, clinging to his sleeve.  Lance wrapped an arm around Pidge and stared in fear up at Hunk.

“What do we do?!” he asked desperately.

“Uh!” Hunk glanced around the room, sinking to floor.  “If there are any spirits with us-“

“ _IF_?!” Pidge and Lance shouted together.

“-t-to the spirits that are here, could you please, like, leave us alone!  We – we don’t mean any harm just please don’t harm us!” Hunk said, hands clasped and pointed to the ceiling. 

A breathy growl sounded over Lance’s shoulder, which made him bolt over to Hunk with Pidge in tow.  “We made it madder!” he cried.  “I’m too young and pretty to die!”

“Yeah, so please don’t kill us, ghost!” Pidge cried, clawing at Lance’s arm. 

For a moment, everything was calm.  Then, the air conditioning kicked off.  All the chill in the room faded away, and the heavy breaths over their shoulders went away. 

“Did – did we imagine all of that?” Pidge asked, letting go of Lance and slinking away.  “ _Seriously_?!”

“Where’s Beso, though!” Lance cried.  He crawled over to the closet and pulled away clothes and shoes and late homework assignments until he found his dog sitting at the bottom of the pile.

With a bag of gummy bears.  Half eaten.  Mouth colored all shades of pink, green, blue, and yellow.

“Hey, that was _my_ stash!” Pidge whined. 

“I guess she smelled it earlier and tried to tell us she wanted some…?” Hunk reasoned.

Lance breathed a sigh of relief, falling back on the floor and looking over at Pidge.  “You were so scared over nothing,” he teased.

Pidge sputtered, face reddening.  “ _I’m_ not the one who was convinced this room was haunted!  _I_ was the reasonable one here!”

“Then why were you hugging my arm like we were gonna die?” Lance asked with a snicker.  He narrowly dodged the pillow Pidge chucked at his head. 

“I can’t believe you two made me waste a whole night over _gummy bears_!” Pidge shouted.  The boys thought she might throw a fit, punch them, kick them, _kill_ them in some way.  But, no.  Instead, Pidge plopped down on Lance’s lap and curled up, tucking her head under his chin.  “You owe me big time for this…” she grumbled before falling asleep.

So, for the rest of the night, Lance was stuck sleeping against the wall beside the closet, Pidge in his lap.  Hunk only took 30 photos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, I'm gonna go ahead and apologize for what is going to be very scattered updates for a little while! I just started college and I have to get a job, so my writing time is being stripped away from me. 
> 
> I'm gonna try to update this weekend, but since my birthday is next Tuesday, my family might be all over me this whole weekend. I'll see what I can do for you guys.


	11. Pussycat, Pussycat, you're delicious, and if my wishes can all come true I'll soon be kissing your sweet little pussycat lips!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> kissu

Lunchtime rolled around to the castle quicker than Pidge thought.  Her whole morning had been consumed by the idea that Lance _loved_ her.  Like, _loved_ loved her.  The two had been paired up for sparring, and she was oh so thankful that he didn’t take it easy on her.  Though, he did manage to cheat by sneaking a kiss on her cheek.  That managed to earn him an extra five seconds to knock Pidge’s feet out from under her. 

So, nursing the sprained ankle Pidge was very bitter about, she took a seat beside Lance at the table.  He’d been babbling on about Meghan Trainor for a solid ten minutes, and at this point Pidge had simply drowned him out for her own mental health.

“Dude, she’s not even that good of a singer,” Hunk said as Pidge started to tune back in.  Pidge slouched on one arm and watched Lance’s face turn to one of utter disappointment.

“How could you _say_ something like that?!” Lance demanded, hand splayed over his chest.  He jerked his head toward Pidge, making her jump.  “Pidge, whose side are you on?!”

She laid her head down on the table, twisting in her seat like a cat.  “I don’t really care.  All she’s known for is _All About that Bass_ , and wasn’t that just a parody of some gospel song?”

Lance looked betrayed, hurt, forsaken.  “Says the girl with _One Direction_ on her computer!”

Pidge shot up in her seat, face blood red.  “You’re not supposed to tell!” she shouted, punching at his arms.  She’d trusted him!  She’d let him listen to her music, pick songs, _everything_!  “Traitor!”

“If I say I’m sorry then will you stop hitting me?” Lance asked through his laughter, blocking his face from Pidge’s angry hitting. 

Pidge puffed her cheeks and dropped her forehead against the boy’s shoulder.  “I guess.”

“Glad to know you still love me!” Lance teased, mussing her hair.  Pidge groaned, throwing herself back in her seat. 

“Not anymore…” she grumbled, crossing her arms.  She could feel all the others staring at them, all wondering what in the world was going on.  “I’m mad at you.”

Lance rolled his eyes, smirking as he leaned on the table.  “You looooove me; you think I’m cuuuuute; you get jealoooouuuus of other girls because of meeeeee; you wanna kiiiiiiiiss me,” Lance teased, holding back his laughter as Pidge grew more and more irritated with him.  “Of course, you’d have to be able to reach me to kiss me, ‘cause I don’t wanna lean all the way down there.  It’s bad for my back.”

Pidge gritted her teeth, face hotter and hotter with each word that left Lance’s mouth.  Everyone was staring at her, which was understandable since neither of them had told the others about what had been going on between them.  Yeah, Hunk pretty much knew that she had a crush on Lance, but as far as everything else?  Not a clue. 

Lance just continued to pick on her, but none of it really registered until he mentioned kissing again.

Kissing.

That’d shut him up.

Without much thought, Pidge lunged.  She threw herself into Lance’s lap and mashed their lips together sloppily, squishing his face in her hands.  Lance went stiff, hands frozen in the air.  Pidge smirked into the kiss, thrilled that she could shut the boy up.  She let go and crawled off Lance, plopping down in her seat with a grin on her face.

Meanwhile, Lance sat shocked, frozen in place.  The others weren’t in much better shape, that is, until Keith snorted a laugh.  Then Hunk joined him, and before long Keith and Hunk dissolved into hysterics, singing playground songs about k-i-s-s-i-n-g.  Shiro glared daggers into Lance, and Lance was almost certain the black paladin would kill him if they didn’t need him for Voltron. 

When he was finally able to collect himself, Lance leaned down to Pidge’s side.  “Why did you _do_ that?!” he hissed.

“You wouldn’t stop picking on me, so I shut you up,” Pidge explained. 

“I’m supposed to kiss _you_ first!” Lance practically whined, all sense of dignity out the window.

“Oh well,” Pidge said with a snicker.  She turned to face the boy, who sat just mere inches from her face.  It would be a shame if she just…

“You did it again!” Lance squealed when Pidge sat back. 

“You’re too slow,” Pidge said innocently.  She enjoyed being the one to fluster Lance. 

* * *

 

Later that evening, Pidge sat in her room working on her laptop.  She kept her knees up at her chin, computer balanced on her toes.  She couldn’t help but think of the kisses, hiding her grin with her knees each time the scene replayed in her head.  Her giddiness over the event still felt like something she needed to hide, which seemed silly considering she was alone. 

“Knock, knock,” Lance said as he stepped inside.

Pidge looked up, glaring at the grin on his face.  “Whatever you’re thinking, don’t.”

“What, I can’t come and see my little munchkin?” Lance said with a smirk. 

Pidge tilted her head to look over her glasses, which just made Lance laugh.  “I know what you’re thinking,” she said. 

“OK, what am I thinking?” Lance asked, flopping onto her bed.  He pulled himself all the way up until he rested against the wall, hands behind his head.

“You’re thinking that you could just come in here and catch me off guard and kiss me for revenge,” Pidge answered, setting her computer to the side to give the boy her full attention, crossing her legs to lean closer easier. 

“Wow,” Lance whispered in mock amazement.  “You’re smart _and_ pretty!”

Pidge rolled her eyes, and Lance took his opportunity.  He leaned up and caught Pidge’s lips, lacing a hand in her hair.  Pidge was forced down when Lance flopped back down against the mattress, and she had to brace herself on Lance’s arm to keep from falling against him.  Lance eventually broke the kiss apart, a goofy grin present on his face when Pidge looked down at him.

“Not bad, I guess,” Pidge said nonchalantly, sitting back against her pillows. 

“ _Not bad_?” Lance repeated.  He sat up and scooted closer, pulling the girl into his lap.  “What do you mean ‘not bad’?!”  He demanded in a silly voice, blowing a raspberry against Pidge’s shoulder. 

She squealed and jumped.  “Lance, I’ll murder you!”

“Oh no, I’m so scared!” Lance teased, tickling the girl’s sides.  “What ever will I do if my cute little Katie tries to kill me?”  He peppered her face with kisses, enjoying her squirms and protests as the girl giggled and smiled brightly. 

Finally, he stopped and held Pidge tightly.  Pidge heaved breaths, glancing over her shoulder at Lance.  She puffed her cheeks and slumped against Lance, taking a fistful of his shirt.  “You’re mean,” she mumbled.

“Yeah, yeah,” Lance said with a snort.  He shifted them so he laid against the pillows, ignoring Pidge’s cold toes on his thigh.  She was obviously doing that for revenge, but Lance just thought it was precious. 

“I still got the first kiss, so I still win,” Pidge said, rolling on top of him.

“Don’t remind me, you big meanie,” Lance groaned.  He kissed the top of Pidge’s head, and then neither of them said anything else.  Pidge went back to work, scrolling and typing with one hand while Lance rubbed her back.  Not much felt different.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm tired but I had to write this.


	12. This is what i call disney magic y'all

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge is really short and the garrison does not take that in to consideration. She just wanted hot chocolate.

The Garrison had a student kitchen.  Well, more like a little hole in the wall with cabinets and a fridge and a microwave where students could put their care package food.  However, in the boy’s floor student kitchen, the cabinets were set for 16 - 18-year-old boys who were at least 5’ 9”.  Pidge was not that tall.  She was 5’ 2”, which put her _just_ at eyelevel with the base of the cabinets.

And someone moved her hot chocolate mix to the top shelf.

“Are you _kidding_ me?!” Pidge groaned, sliding her _Little Mermaid_ slippers so she could climb onto the counter.  They didn’t both having a step stool, since most boys were tall enough to easily reach the shelves.  Once on top of the laminate counter, she raised slowly to her feet.  Pidge had to hold onto the doors and pray that her slipping heels wouldn’t betray her. 

Pidge leaned out away from the door so that she could reach inside.  However, when she let go of the door handle, she lost her balance.  With a screech, Pidge toppled to the floor and landed on her house shoes. 

Lance and Hunk ran in moments later, wide eyed and scared.

“ _Pidge_?!” Lance hissed, diving for the floor.  “What did you do?!”  He reached for her arm, ready to examine her for bumps and bruises.

“I _fell_ , genius,” Pidge grumbled, pulling her elbow from Lance’s grip.  She tried to get to her feet, but stumbled when she put pressure on her ankle.  Hunk quickly grabbed her under the arms and leaned her against the counter.

“Why were you on the counter?” Hunk asked.

“Someone put the hot chocolate up too high…” Pidge mumbled, hoping not to be heard. 

But, unfortunately for her, Lance heard.  He choked down a laugh, reaching up easily into the open cabinet to snatch the tin of chocolate mix.  At the deep frown on Pidge’s face, he had to laugh.  Just, maybe he laughed too hard. 

“Oh, don’t laugh at me!” Pidge fussed, shoving Lance away as she hopped to the fridge, leg bent up so her hurt ankle didn’t touch the floor.  She grabbed the milk and then grabbed a plain white mug from the lower shelf of another cabinet.  The boys watched in amusement as Pidge hobbled around, too stubborn to ask for help.  Once her mug was in the microwave, Pidge set the mix on the lowest shelf, careful to make sure she could still reach it.

And then her foot touched tile.

“ _OW_!” Pidge hissed.

Lance reacted quickly, scooping Pidge up and setting her on the counter.  “How about you get off your feet for a few minutes before you make things worse?” he teased.

Pidge puffed her cheeks, looking away.  The darkness of the room hid her blush, which she was grateful for.  Now if only she could still her swinging leg.

Oh, yeah, slippers.  Pidge stared down at the shoes, trying to think of a plan to get them back without either Lance or Hunk noticing that they were 1) pink and 2) Disney.  That might be difficult.

The microwave went off, so Pidge made to hop down.

“Oh, no you don’t, little man,” Lance said, pushing Pidge back.  He reached in with a pot holder and set the mug down beside Pidge, a teasing grin still present on his face.  “I think you can stand a few more minutes with us.”

“No, I’ve got homework…and a project…a-and!”

“Pidge.”  Lance smiled and leaned against the counter, “I think you can stand a _few_ minutes with your teammates.”

“Fine…” Pidge grumbled, crossing her arms.

Then, Hunk spoke up.  “Uh, are those yours, Pidge?” he asked, pointing to the pink, fuzzy slippers with Ariel or Prince Eric over the toes. 

Pidge jumped, unsure what to say.  “U-uh!”

“Wow, Pidge, never would have pegged you as a Disney Princess fan!” Lance said with a laugh. 

“W-well, I just grew up on Disney, it’s not my fault!  And, those aren’t _mine_ mine, obviously.  I mean I’m clearly a boy and no boy has _Little Mermaid_ house shoes, right?”  She was rambling.  She knew she was rambling, but she couldn’t stop herself.

“…Right, _anyway_ , Grumpy Pants,” Lance started, pushing off from the counter, “I guess we can get back to your room, now.”

“ _We_?” Pidge repeated as Lance fixed the slippers on Pidge’s feet. 

“You’re the one who sprained his ankle, and I’m not gonna let somebody _walk_ on a hurt foot!”

Before Pidge could protest, Lance had picked her up bridal style and Hunk took her drink.  “Alright, let’s go!”

“I can walk!” Pidge shouted, clinging to Lance’s neck as she squirmed.  They passed the boys’ room and Beso flew out the door, dancing at Hunk’s heels.  “Carry the dog, not me!”

“Calm down, sheesh,” Lance said, fixing his grip so he wouldn’t dump Pidge on the floor.

Hunk picked up the dog, who licked at his face and nipped at his hair.  “I guess the whole gang’s here, now,” he said with a laugh. 

“You guys really don’t need to do this,” Pidge said, glancing back at Hunk.  “Please make him put me down!”

“Sorry, Pidge,” Hunk said, “but I agree with Lance on this one.  You’re hurt; we can’t just let you run around with a sprained ankle.”

“Well, you _could_ ,” Pidge started.

Lance laughed and shook his head.  “Man, what’s your deal?  You act like this is the end of the world!”

“Yeah, if I didn’t know any better I’d say our little Pidge likes you, Lance,” Hunk said, earning him a glare from Pidge.

“Psh, that’s impossible, Hunk!  Don’t say things so silly!” Lance said with a laugh.  Pidge rolled her eyes and tapped her keycard to the door to her room, leaning back against Lance; Hunk needed to keep his big mouth shut.

Once Lance set down Pidge and Hunk handed her the mug of now-cooled hot chocolate, Pidge tried to hurry them out of the room.  “Great, thanks for _all_ the help, now leave.”

“Pidge, you wound us!” Lance said dramatically, taking Beso from Hunk’s arms.  “And in front of the baby, no less!”

Pidge stared blankly, sipping her drink slowly.  “Gotta toughen up some time,” was all she said before setting her drink down and flopping back against the pillows, snatching her DS.  “Hunk, you have peach trees in your town, right?”

“Yeah…?”

“I need to go to your town.  That’s the only kind I don’t have,” Pidge looked up at him, big eyes pleading. 

“Uh, sure, lemme go get my DS…”

Lance pouted, watching Hunk disappear.  Pidge ducked her head back down to stare at the screen, and just like that, he and Beso were alone.  So, he flopped down on Pidge’s bed, crawling up to her pillows.

“Lance, what are you doing?!” Pidge shouted, squirming when his arm went around her middle.  Beso curled up on her chest, blocking Pidge’s view of her game.

“Isn’t this game boring?” Lance asked, setting his cheek on Pidge’s shoulder.  Pidge sighed, after all, she didn’t exactly mind this situation…

“No, there’s always something to do.  You can talk to your townspeople, build things, fish, garden, design clothes-“

“That sounds really _boring_ , Pidge,” Lance groaned.

Hunk came back, and he and Pidge visited each other’s towns, messing around and visiting the island.  Lance watched the whole event, feet laced with Hunk’s.  He still didn’t understand the game’s appeal, but Pidge and Hunk liked it. 

“So, if Beso was a citizen in your town, you wouldn’t run her off, would you, Pidge?”

“…depends how bad her jokes would be.”

“ _Pidge, that’s not fair_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, self-promo:  
> usachanbeccer and I have started an ask blog on tumblr for pidgance! Go follow @askthe2memepaladins! It's quite silly over there, and Pidge and Lance get in to some arguments, too.
> 
> While you're at it, follow my main blog @pidgesheadphones while you're at it!


	13. Mr Electric send him to the Principal's Office and have him EXPELLED!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> History class with Lance and a jealous little Pidge~

Pidge hated history class.  For one thing, all she cared about was robotics and the future so why did she even need this class?  Another thing was that she had this class with Lance.  And one _great_ thing about having Lance in a class was that he _never shut up_. 

However, this class was made even worse because of their teacher.  She was extremely pretty, tan, had gorgeous long brown hair, and Lance just so happened to notice all of that.  Great!

“OK, everyone turn to page 56…” the woman instructed.  She said something else, but Pidge stopped listening when her eyes fell on the page.  _Oh, yay, Christopher Columbus…_

“Hey, Pidge,” Lance whispered, tapping Pidge’s shoulder.  She jumped, flinching at the touch.

“What?!” Pidge hissed as she spun around in her seat. 

“Wanna read together?” he asked, smirk on his face.  He knew Pidge didn’t catch the last part of the assignment, since Pidge always drowned out the world when any piece of instruction was given.  “She said we can pair up.”

“Uh, yeah, sure!” Pidge squeaked, pulling her book around.  She placed her finger at the top of the text and started to read, shoving the words out of her mouth.  At one point, she snuck a quick peak at Lance, who was staring at their teacher.  “Lance!” Pidge fussed, hitting his arm.

“Oh, right, sorry!” Lance shook out his head.  He read a little bit, though he went much slower than Pidge and he tripped over his words more than her. 

Pidge couldn’t help but stare at him, firstly wondering why he was struggling as much as he was, then slowly drifting off to just watching him speak.  His brow knitted together, and he fidgeted in his seat every time he messed up a word.  Lance twitched his head to the side when he took a moment to get a word, and Pidge could even see him grin proudly when he got through a big word. 

“OK, that’s far enough,” Lance said with a sigh, leaning back in his seat.  “Why do we even gotta read this, anyway?  We’re just gonna go over it in class!”  He picked up a pencil and bounced it on its eraser – a nervous habit?

“It’s just the assignment,” Pidge grumbled, staring back down at the pages.  She looked back up and rolled her eyes before snatching the pencil out of Lance’s hand. 

“Oh, are you two not enjoying the reading?”

Lance and Pidge both jumped when their teacher appeared, same happy smile as always splayed on her cheeks.  Lance grinned, placing his elbows on the desk as he tried to look cooler.  “I’d just rather hear it all from you, ma’am, since you’re one of the greatest teach-“

“ _OK, Lance_ ,” Pidge growled.  She snatched the arm he was leaning his cheek into and slammed it against the desk. 

“OW!” Lance shouted, twisting in his seat.  “What’s was that for?!”

“You’re the one being gross and stupid!”

“You’re the one bullying me!”

“It’s not bullying!”

“ _McClain, Gunderson, in the hall_!”

Pidge flinched when the door to the classroom slammed.  She balled her hands into fists and gritted her teeth, ready to lash out at Lance once again.  But, when she looked up to yell, it all melted away.  Alone, Lance wasn’t bad.  He only flirted and acted out around pretty girls or large crowds, but when he was isolated, he became almost shy.  Weird.

Taking a breath, Pidge breathed out her apology.  “I’m sorry I hurt you, Lance…”

Lance looked down to her, a small smile growing on his face.  “Didn’t think little Pidgey would get jealous of the teacher,” he teased.

Pidge blinked once, twice, heat growing on her face.  “What are you even talking about?!” she snapped, waving her arms around.  “I was not – you can’t just say that – _I didn’t get jealous_!”

Lance laughed and kicked off from the wall, hands behind his head.  “Whatever, Pidge, I know the truth!”

Pidge took off after him, shouting about how _not jealous_ she was and how that didn’t even make _sense_. 

“Do you wanna keep arguing about this or do you wanna go get some lunch?” Lance eventually asked.  Pidge glared at him, cheeks puffed in a pout, before she stared forward and crossed her arms.  Lance laughed out loud, placing a hand in Pidge’s hair to muss it.  “You’re funny, you know that?”

“So’s your face…” Pidge grumbled.  Lance rolled his eyes.  He’d had to work harder on this whole get-Pidge-to-admit-spending-time-with-him thing wasn’t so bad.  Maybe they’d even become really good friends?  Maybe even _best_ friends, if he played his cards right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ehh, short little chapter, I know. Hopefully I can get something longer written soon! Don't forget to follow my pidgance ask blog @askthe2memepaladins and my main blog @pidgesheadphones!


	14. Schmoopy Poopy Sickfic Poor Pidge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sick

Pidge couldn’t believe her luck; she was sick.  So sick, in fact, that she couldn’t even get out of bed.  Ugh, everything hurt.  The flu on top of period cramps?  No, thank you.  At least she didn’t have to go to class, not that she could even get up to go to class. 

So, between drifting in and out of naps, she worked on the hardware for her computer.  She needed to work on firewalls and incognito modes, as well as illegally downloading all of her favorite movies.  Shush, she deserved something happy.

As Pidge’s eyes fell heavy once again, the download of _Mulan_ finishing, there was a knock on her door.  Groaning and sniffling, Pidge cleared her throat to speak.  “Who is it?” she croaked.

“ _Lance_ ,” came from the other side of the door.  “… _and Beso_.”

Pidge coughed roughly and tossed back her head.  “Come in…” she said with a whine to her voice.

The door slid open to reveal Lance and his dog, a stack of papers in Lance’s unoccupied arm.  “So, you’re sick, huh?”

A coughing fit took over Pidge, but in between coughs she managed, “What was your first clue?”  She groaned and dropped her head against Sir Tonguesy, sniffling.  “Why are you here?”

Lance huffed, switching his weight to one leg.  “I’ve got your homework, and the cure for your sickness.”

If Pidge didn’t have such a massive headache, she’d have rolled her eyes.  However, in her current state, she just needed to will herself up to go change pads.  “And what is this magical cure?” she asked, figuring she could play along for a little bit.

Lance gave a smug smirk before tossing Beso down and flopping down beside Pidge.  She bounced on the bed, squeaking in surprise.  What was he doing?!  “OK, movie time!”

“ _What_?!” Pidge cried, coughing harshly into her elbow.  She drew up her comforter tucking herself in tightly. 

“C’mon, I have four siblings and a little niece and nephew, I’m good about this kind of stuff,” Lance said.  “The best cure for anything is smiles, laughs, and comfort!”  With that, Lance snatched up Pidge’s laptop and quickly found _Mulan_.  “…Well, well, well…”

“I was gonna watch that later,” Pidge said.  She pressed herself against the wall, attempting to stay as far away from Lance as possible.  Lance popped up from the bed, switched off the lights, and flopped back down.

“Well, let’s watch it now!” Lance said.  He tugged Pidge closer while Beso curled up right between the two of them.  The stuffed dragon fell over on top of Pidge, not that she could be bothered at this point to move it.  Why did he have to be like this?  Lance slouched down in the bed, so Pidge figured he wasn’t going to leave.  While “Bring honor to us all” played, she rested her heavy head on Lance’s shoulder. 

Lance didn’t say anything; he was smarter than that.  Instead, he brought a hand around to rub Pidge’s back.  She flinched when his cold fingers touched her flaming skin, but she had to relax when it felt _so good_.  The movie continued to play, and while Pidge couldn’t fully relax because of her cramps, she still felt quite sleepy.  And, halfway through “Reflection”, she fell asleep. 

Lance looked down when she stopped sniffling so much, grinning when he saw that Pidge was out like a light, clinging to his shirt tightly.  Gah, why was Pidge so cute?!  Why did Lance like Pidge so much?! 

The movie played on, and Lance moved his hand up to play with Pidge’s hair.  She moved into the touch, pushing her head up onto his chest and under his chin.  The arm that had been clinging to Lance’s shirt moved out to dangle over the bed.  The covers slipped down, and Lance spotted panda sleep shorts. 

_Cute…_

GAH, there he went again!  Pidge was his little buddy, his little munchkin!  He couldn’t have a crush on _Pidge_!

…and, yet, he could feel the heat rise to his own face when Pidge laid her head on his shoulder and settled down.  This wasn’t good.  Ugh.

The movie ended, so Lance figured he should leave, unless he wanted Pidge to get angry with him.  He picked up Beso and set her on the floor, then planned his escape.  He shimmied out from under Pidge, reclaiming his right side, then untangled his feet from the blankets, draping them over Pidge’s body once again. 

As he picked up Beso and opened the door, he heard a whimper.  Looking back, he saw Pidge curled up in a tight little ball, coughs shaking her frame.  But, that didn’t seem to be the big issue.  “You…uh, OK?  Pidge?”

“Belly…” Pidge whined, hiding her face in her pillow. 

“Your belly hurts?” Lance asked, putting Beso down.  Pidge nodded, and Lance felt a ping in his heart.  He went back to Pidge’s side, crouching down to eyelevel.  “What can I do to help?” he asked.

Pidge held out a hand, and Lance took it.  She could barely grip his hand, so Lance massaged the knuckles to hopefully make her feel better.  Lance sat there beside the bed, just holding onto Pidge’s hand, until she fell back asleep.  Before leaving, Lance pressed a kiss to Pidge’s forehead.  She was so warm, but Lance had helped in a small way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since next week starts October, I'll finally be able to post Halloween stuff! I've got several ideas for some spoopy-ness hehe!


	15. With Jolly old St. Nicholas Before the night is through there's something very special that I'd like to say to you merry, merry Christmas I'd like you know I'm hoping that I meet someone under the mistletoe...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas at the Garrison has something interesting in store for Lance and Pidge...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so sorry for anyone that can guess where this chapter title comes from  
> if you know the song, put it in a comment!

There were lots of things Pidge would rather have been doing with her last week of class before Christmas break.  Looking for her family, for example, was high on that list.  Instead, however, she was stuck in Lance and Hunk’s room while they attempted to decorate.  “Seriously, where did you get all this stuff, anyway?” Pidge asked, handing Lance a strand of lights to tack to the wall.

“Brought it with me from home, duh!” Lance explained.  He hopped off his bed and dug around in the box some more.  He yanked out a little plant, which took mere seconds for Pidge to register - mistletoe.  “Lookie here, Hunk!” Lance exclaimed.  Hunk cooed and continued hanging ornaments on their small tree.  “C’mere, Beso!  Here, _bebe_!” 

With a little bark, the dog squirmed her way out from under the tree skirt to get to Lance.  He picked her up and dangled the plant, the freaking _mistletoe_ , over Beso’s head.  Beso licked at his face and wagged her tail happily while Pidge stared with wide eyes at the plant in Lance’s hand.

“ _Why_ do you have mistletoe?!” Pidge asked loudly, taking a step back.

“You never know when it’ll come in handy, little man!” Lance reasoned.  “I mean, I can’t keep all _this_ away from someone in need of a little Christmas present~”

With that, Pidge took it upon herself to avoid Lance at all costs for the rest of the decorating spree.  No way was she getting caught, nuh uh!  She helped Hunk and took extra steps back from where she knew Lance was behind her.  It might not have been the _best_ solution, but Pidge didn’t think she could handle a kiss from Lance after she’d only recently grown her stupid little crush.

“Well, it looks great, bye!” Pidge rushed out as soon as everything had been put out.  She fled down to her room and slid in, collapsing in bed.  She took the teddy bear her dad had given her and screamed into it.  As she laid there in the quiet, her mind started to wander.  She thought of what it would’ve been like if Lance _had_ been given the opportunity to catch her under the mistletoe.  Would he have even kissed her?

And, if he had, would he have gone for a cheek kiss?  Or forehead?  Or, worst of all…lips?  “Nope, stop thinking about it, Katie!” She squealed and kicked her feet.  “Nope, nope, nope, nope!”  Her face burned as the scene played itself in her mind.  The two of them standing in the doorway, mistletoe hanging just above their heads, and Lance leaning over top of her clouded her thoughts.  God, what had she done to deserve this punishment?!

Then, there was a knock on her door.  “What?!” Pidge barked.  She didn’t want to get up.  She just wanted to wallow in her crush.

The knocking began again without any sign of letting up, and she groaned as she pulled herself to her feet.  “Shush, I’m coming!”

Pidge threw open the door to see Lance paused mid-knock.  She glared up at him and questioned why he was there.  

“Thought your room could use some Christmas-ification,” was all he said, pointing up. 

Pidge directed her eyes up, and she squeaked.  Lance had hung the mistletoe above her door!  The little - !

“Hm, it looks like we’re both under here, aren’t we?”  Pidge didn’t have to look up at him to see the smirk.  Lance was enjoying this far too much.  “Well, I guess we have a tradition to honor!” Lance said as he leaned closer and closer to Pidge, teasing her relentlessly.

“Lance, I swear if you –!” Pidge couldn’t finish her sentence before a pair of lips met her cheek.  He lingered for a moment, not roughly pushing the kiss before fleeing.  Instead, it was soft and sweet, and Pidge could smell the candy canes and Lance’s cologne potently.  Ooh, boy, that comforting scent stripped away any anger that had swollen up and replaced it with a hunger for more.

Lance stood back up straight and grinned down at Pidge, who floundered.  Pidge blushed deeply and looked so confused, it was honestly so adorable.  “Was that so bad, Pidgey?”

“I, y-you…stupid!”  With that, Pidge slammed the door in Lance face and sank to her bottom.  Why did he _do_ that?!  And why, oh, _why_ did Pidge want more?!  She couldn’t go out there and face him, at least not right then. 

Lance knocked on the door, and Pidge could hear his snickers from the other side.  “Come on out, Pidge!  It was just a little kiss on the cheek!”

Pidge didn’t know why, but that was enough to pull her off the floor and make Pidge fling the door open.  She didn’t know why, but she couldn’t stop herself from grabbing Lance’s shoulders, forcing him to stoop down, and getting on her tiptoes just to press her own kiss to his cheek.  She tossed him back and held a glare, hoping intimidation came through stronger than her embarrassment as she slammed the door back shut. 

“And there’s your little kiss on the cheek!” she shouted from the other side.  Lance stood dumbfounded for a moment, hand hovering over where Pidge had just kissed him.  He burned where he stood and covered his face as he headed back to his room.  Gah, Pidge was too cute!!  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The semester's over and I'm FREE!! Merry Christmas, you guys!


	16. I can't think of a good hair pun tbh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge's hair is starting to grow back out, not that she wants to do anything with it.

Pidge twitched with nerves, feeling a set of eyes peering through her.  She grit her teeth and spun around, face red when she realized Lance stood just a foot from her.  “What are you doing, Lance?” she asked, shoving past him to plop down on the sofa in the common room.  She picked up her handheld game she’d managed to build and chose to ignore Lance when he raked his hands through her hair.

Until.

“You should let me do your hair, Katie,” Lance commented, combing through the girl’s bangs.

“Why would I let you do that?” Pidge questioned, shooting upright to keep Lance’s hands away from her hair.

“Well, it’s getting longer and you clearly aren’t gonna do anything about it!” Lance reasoned.  “It would be a travesty for me to let you walk around with a rat’s nest on your head!”

“Rat’s nest?!” Pidge yelled, shooting up from the sofa and stomping away.  “I’m going to Green’s hangar!” she shouted as she disappeared through the doorway.  Her hair was just fine!  It was just growing, that’s all!  Gah, what did Lance know about hair anyway?!

* * *

Lance waited about an hour (or what felt like an hour) before going to see Pidge.  He gave her enough time to simmer down and rant to her lion so hopefully she would cave in and let him play with her hairstyle…or lack thereof.

However, when he entered the green lion’s hangar, he didn’t find Pidge fiddling with her wiring or something, oh no.  He found his girlfriend curled up asleep against one mechanical paw, hair splayed out in a wild style.  It was extremely tempting to just coo and snap photo after photo, but Lance held himself back.  Instead, he cackled evilly and ran off to get what he’d need.

Once he’d retrieved some hairties and a brush, Lance plopped down on the floor beside the girl and repositioned her so he’d have an easier time fixing her hair.  Pidge never once stirred, and for not the first Lance wondered if she had slept the night before.

But then, Allura called for everyone to get to their lions.  Pidge awoke startled and confused, but still catapulted herself off Lance without so much as questioning him. 

* * *

 

After the fight, all five paladins settled in the common room to rest.  Pidge noticed Hunk staring at her with a goofy grin, and she narrowed her eyes and asked what he was so entranced by. 

“I didn’t know you liked pigtails, Pidge!” Hunk cooed.

“What?” Pidge hopped to her feet and ran to grab a mirror.  Sure enough, her hair was pulled into twin pigtails that rested gently on her shoulders.  How had she not noticed?!  Who’d done thi- “ _LANCE_!” Pidge shouted, racing back to everyone.  “I didn’t give you permission to do this!” she fussed, waving her hands emphatically around her face.

“Ah, but it looks so cute on you, Pidge!” Lance whined, tossing his head back to wink at the girl.  She blushed and tightened her fists, dragging her feet around until she could flop down on top of Lance.  “Pigtails are really cute on you, and they tame your wild hair.”

“Just stop talking, it looks dumb,” Pidge mumbled, crossing her arms.

“Pidge, if you don’t like it, you could always just take you hair down,” Shiro said.

“No, because if I take it down Lance won’t be reminded of what a terrible decision this was,” Pidge grumbled.  Truth was, she didn’t want to take her hair down because she actually thought it was cute…not that Lance needed to know that.

Lance did figure it out, however, when Pidge would drag herself into his room every morning, flop down on his bed, and curl into a little ball until he did her hair.  Through all the ponytails, braids, buns, and more intricate hairstyles, pigtails remained Pidge’s favorite.  She never told Lance, but he knew.  He knew by the grins Pidge gave when she thought he wasn’t looking.  He knew by the kiss on the cheek he’d get, or the big bearhug.  He knew because he could read Pidge like a book, no matter how secretive she thought she was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap you guys, it's been just over 6 months since I started writing this fic! Way back then there was hardly anything for pidgance at all (in fact I think there was only like three pieces of art?? and about eight other fics??)! Thanks for all the love and support you guys give to this fic and this ship, and I'm going to *try* to start putting up more chapters!


	17. That Pinterest (TM) Aesthetic MMMMHMMMM

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> pidge goes with plants, right?

“Lance, what is this for?” Pidge deadpanned, staring at the plant in Lance’s hand.  Her eyes drifted up from the succulent to Lance’s huge grin, then back to the plant. 

“Well, I thought we should get you something from town, and you seem like a plants kind of dude!” Lance explained.  If he were honest with himself, he’d have just explained that Pidge always seemed so closed off and annoyed with everything, and plants were supposed to help with mood problems.  “Here, we can put it on your nightstand!” Lance exclaimed, shoving past Pidge and the mounds of organized crap that littered a path to her bed. 

“Lance, you really don’t ha-“

“It fits so well!” Lance said proudly, spinning around with that grin holding strong.  Pidge had to choke back a laugh, fighting the blush that oh so persistently crept up her neck. 

“I-I’m not good at taking care of plants, really,” Pidge tried.  “I-It’ll just die in here!”

Lance waved her off, head held high as he rested his hands on his hips.  “Have no fear, _I_ thought of that before I bought it!  Succulents don’t need much attention; as long as they have sunlight and you water them every now and then, they’re just fine!” 

 _Damn him_ , Pidge thought, dropping her head.  There was no way out of this.  She glanced up to see the stuffed dragon Lance had won her sitting at the head of her bed.  Why, oh why, did Lance have to be so considerate?!  Why couldn’t he be a jerk, idiot, clueless moron like most of the guys she knew?!  Why did he have to remind her of Matt…?

It took everything in Pidge to not visibly shake her head to get the thoughts out.  Instead, she flinched at the knocks Lance placed on the crown of her part. 

“Helloooo, earth to Gunderson!” Lance called.  He stooped down to try and see Pidge’s face, but she turned her head so he couldn’t see that she was fighting off tears. 

“Hey, what’s wrong, Pidge?” Lance asked, suddenly very concerned.  Pidge didn’t usually act like this; something had to be up. 

Pidge shook her head, wiping her face with the heel of her hand.  “I’m fine; it’s just…I like cacti better.”

“Oh?” Lance questioned with a snort.

“Yeah,” Pidge said with a sniffle, “Obviously they’re cooler than _dudleya_.”

“Whatever you say, little man,” Lance said, trying not to laugh at his silly classmate.

* * *

 

It was only a week later that Lance and Hunk stopped by Pidge’s room to see if she wanted to go to town with them and Beso.  They expected to see Pidge plopped down on her bed, 3DS in hand.  However, all they saw when Lance opened the door was Pidge’s back.

Hunk raised an eyebrow, looking to Lance to see if he had any explanation.  But, Lance just shrugged, stepping inside to peer over Pidge’s shoulder.  He thought he heard Pidge…talking.  To the plant.

“Having a nice little chat?” Lance murmured in Pidge’s ear. 

“AH, LANCE!” Pidge screamed, jumping away from her bedside table.  “Wh-what are you guys doing here?”

“We’re heading to town, thought you’d like to come and get some fresh air,” Hunk explained, setting Beso down on the floor.

Beso started sniffing around, eventually finding her way onto Pidge’s lap and eventually the table where the succulents sat.  As the dog sniffed and sniffed, she slowly started to open her mouth, and Pidge gasped, snatching Beso up as she launched into a standing position.

“Don’t bite those, you dumb dog!” Pidge cried out, shoving Beso into Lance’s arms.  “Lance, don’t let your dog hurt Elizabeth!”

…

…..

………

“Uh, ignore me.” Pidge felt her face heat up, and she wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole just so she wouldn’t have to see Lance’s smug look.

However, even without looking up, Pidge just _knew_ Lance’s crooked little grin had surfaced.  “You named it?”

“Shut up!” Pidge shouted, stomping over to Hunk.  She picked up Hunk’s arm and tossed it around her shoulder, burying her face in his side.  “What else was I supposed to do with it?” she mumbled into Hunk’s side.

“Aw, Pidge!” Lance cooed. 

“No!”

* * *

 

Pidge didn’t go to town with the boys and Beso, but she was well aware of their return that evening.  Lance burst into her room once again, this time toting a new plant instead of the dog he claimed was actually his child. 

“Hey, Pidge!” Lance greeted.  He presented the plant, which was purple and had little blotches of light blue spread about.  Pidge glared at the plant, then Lance.

“Why?” she asked.

“Well, you seem to get along with _Elizabeth_ so well, I thought she might get lonely when you’re not here to coddle her!” Lance explained in a slightly teasing tone. 

Pidge took the plant, reading the tag as ‘Echeveria.’ 

It _was_ really pretty…

“OK, fine,” Pidge said through a sigh, settling the new succulent down beside Elizabeth. 

In the weeks that past, Lance could walk past Pidge’s room and hear her conversing with the two plant pals, assuring Elizabeth that Rebecca hadn’t stolen all her attention.  Every now and then he could make out Pidge’s ramblings as being about _him_.  And if buying plants could make Pidge so happy and talkative, well, Lance would buy a whole damn rainforest.

…that wasn’t too gay, right?  Hunk assured him it most certainly wasn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...hi.  
> Whoops.
> 
> I know I keep saying that "This is my return!! I'll start making more chapters starting NOW!!!" and I never do. Sorry about that. It just kinda feels like no one really cares about this fic anymore (except becca but she doesn't count). I have some more chapter ideas that I'll try to crank out after this semester ends in a few weeks, though!
> 
> Feel free to check out and follow my tumblr @pidgesheadphones


	18. Your the reason that I jumped in the pool 'Cause your so hot that I got to get cool often...and because you made me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's really hot and the ship has a pool, right?

The heat outside was practically boiling when Pidge woke up.  It seemed they had landed on a planet that didn’t know what the words “air conditioning” meant.  So, while fanning herself, Pidge made her way to the common room to see Lance and Hunk both sitting on the sofas in swim shorts, having apparently both decided that even their light sleepwear was too much.

“Hey Pidge,” Lance greeted with a grin.  It seemed he really didn’t mind the heat at all, or at least that’s what he wanted everyone to think.

Pidge groaned and flipped onto the couch, popping her feet up in Hunk’s lap.  “Why’s it so hot?  What hellish planet did Coran land us on?” she asked.  Then, with a sudden thought, Pidge looked out a window as she asked, “He didn’t land us on a _literal_ star, right?”

Hunk scoffed, “He might as well have.  This place is way too hot.”

“Oh, c’mon you two!” Lance whined.  “It’s not even that hot!”

“That’s easy for you to say!” Pidge fussed. 

“Why, because I’m already so hot?”

Pidge sighed loudly and got to her feet, taking off toward Green’s hangar.  The good thing about the paladins’ clothes is that there was a wide variety meant for an assortment of different people, so there was a swimsuit that did (mostly) fit Pidge.  The top was a bit baggy, and not for the first time Pidge cursed her own chest for not being either a bit bigger or just _gone_.  The bottoms actually fit properly, so at least she didn’t have to worry about hiking up her shorts all day. 

“OK, girl, let’s do some repairs…” Pidge mumbled mainly to herself, climbing up on Green’s back.

As Pidge started to work on Green, she heard a voice from down below.  “Pidge!”

“OUCH!” Pidge shouted as she bumped her head, “SON OF A-“

“Hey you wanna go down to the pool, boo?” Lance asked, leaning on one of the lion’s legs. 

Pidge glared down at him from where she sat cradling her head.  “Why would I?”

“Oh come on, Pidge!  You’re even dressed for it!”

“Lance, I don’t _swim_ ,” Pidge tried.  Lance kept insisting, and it finally came down to Pidge jumping down just to make him stop talking.  She snatched his hand and started to drag him towards the elevator.

* * *

 

Pidge sat on the edge of the pool ankle-deep in the water while Lance swam around.  She watched him with a fond smile on her face, foot drawing lazy circles.  She’d giggle when Lance tried to imitate a mermaid and flat-out burst into laughter when he leapt up in the middle of the water and flipped like a fish. 

“Should I go get a fishing pole?” Pidge asked through her snickers. 

“I don’t see why you don’t get in with me,” Lance said, wadding over to the girl.  He pulled himself up beside her and shook off the water.  “It’s more fun to actually swim than it is to watch someone else, buuuut I guess you do have a pretty good view…”

“I will push you back in, y’know,” Pidge deadpanned, blush on her cheeks.  She gripped the sides of the pool and lifted her legs up out of the water, staring at the droplets.  “I’m just not much of a swimmer.  Matt and Dad tried to teach me, but I never really got past the doggy paddle.”

“Well, I can show you,” Lance offered, soft smile playing on his lips.  He slid back into the water and held out a hand.  Pidge bit her lip and stared at the offered palm, not sure as to what she should do.  Eventually she took the hand and slid down.  The water came up to her chest, and it kind of scared her.  “Alright, can you float?”

“I don’t know,” Pidge said, gripping Lance’s arm for dear life as he walked them towards the center of the pool. 

“Well let’s try it!” Lance put one hand on the small of Pidge’s back and the other on the back of her neck.  Once she lifted up her feet, he moved his hands so that one held up her legs.  “Now just close your eyes and remember that you’re light as a feather.”

“Oh yeah, I’m just gonna shut my eyes in the middle of the pool!” Pidge fussed.

“Katie, you gotta trust me,” Lance said calmly, smile never wavering.  “Just take a deep breath and shut your eyes.”  As the girl closed her eyes, Lance moved his hands out from underneath her.  “You’re doing it!” Lance praised, clapping his hands.  “Look who’s floating!”

Pidge’s eyes fluttered open and she broke out into a big grin.  “That’s so awesome!” she squealed, righting herself and jumping to cling to Lance.  “Show me more!”

By the time the rest of the paladins found their way down to the pool, Lance had Pidge’s legs wrapped around his waist and her hands in either of his as he dipped her fully under the water then yanked her back up to place a kiss on her lips.  Neither teen noticed the presence of the others, so it was even more of a treat to her Pidge giggling and squealing “again, again!” every time she emerged from the water.  Though, watching the lovebirds kiss got old really, _really_ quick.

* * *

 

Lance couldn’t help but laugh at Pidge’s pouty face.  She was so embarrassed that the others saw them playing their little ‘game’ that she wouldn’t even look him in the eye.  A small blush tainted Pidge’s cheeks and Lance found it so difficult to refrain from making that blush worse.  Instead, he tugged Pidge onto his lap and wrapped her up in the towel he had around his shoulders, making the two of them into a burrito.

“It’s too hot for this, Laaaance,” Pidge whined, shifting and squirming until she could bury her nose in his neck. 

“How is this any better?” Lance asked with a laugh. 

“You’re the one suffering,” Pidge mumbled, throwing one arm limply across Lance’s bare chest.  He could’ve protested, but Pidge was fast asleep before he could say anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These two nerds are so lovey dovey especially pidge lookit her jeez


	19. Been around the world, don't speak the language but your booty don't need explaining all I really need to understand is when... you... talk dirty to me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beso's dirty and so is Lance let's be real here

Pidge couldn’t believe that Lance had roped her in to this.  She grumbled and groaned as the squirmy chihuahua in her arms tried desperately to escape.  “Remind me again why I have to help you bathe _your_ dog?” she asked, heaving the pup up so she sat on Pidge’s hip.

“Because she got _your_ gummy stash in her fur, that’s why,” Lance explained again, testing the water in the plastic tub.  He removed the heated blanket from underneath and stirred up the bubbles.  “Alright, put her in!”

Beso kicked and squirmed as Pidge brought her closer to the surface of the water.  She whined loudly, making doggy paddle motions in the air.  “Just get in the water!” Pidge complained, plunking the dog down.  Beso tried to jump out, but lucky for the two teens her…weight challenge…made that a very difficult task. 

“OK, OK, I’m sorry, _bebe_ ,” Lance tried to soothe the dog as he reached for a brush to start scrubbing her down.  “We can get you a nice dinner after this is aaaaall over, OK?”  For whatever reason, that seemed to actually calm Beso down.  Pidge swore she wasn’t actually a dog, but an alien disguised as a puppy to gain intelligence.

Maybe she was a robot? 

Whatever she was, Beso was a lot more agile than she looked.  Pidge was put on guard duty to keep Beso in the tub, which was easiest by keeping a towel spread wide around the tub. 

“You’re gonna be an even prettier girl by the time we’re done here, Beso!” Lance cooed.  He rinsed the suds from the dog’s back and scratched her fur to make sure it all rinsed out.  “Such a gorgeous dog!  The _best_ dog ever!”

“Lance, she can’t understand you,” Pidge deadpanned.

Lance gasped and covered Beso’s ears.  “She has feelings, Pidge!  _Of course_ she can understand her papa!”  Pidge rolled her eyes, but decided to let Lance believe whatever he wanted to.  “OK, if you wanna grab her in the towel, I’ll grab a brush.”

Pidge scooped up Beso and towel dried her slightly before Lance took over.  He carefully brushed out Beso’s fur and gently dried her ears.  It was the gentlest Pidge had ever seen him be, and it brought a blush to her face.  Would he be like that with her if they were to date?  So kind and considerate…

“Earth to Gundersooooon,” Lance called through a laugh.  He snapped in Pidge’s face, which finally brought her back.  “What’re you so lost in?” he asked as he fixed a daisy patterned hoodie on Beso. 

“N-nothing!” Pidge answered, turning away.

“Well, while you’re still here, what d’you think?” he asked, holding up the dog.  Pidge turned back and couldn’t help but laugh.

“She looks like she belongs in Beverly Hills,” Pidge answered, tugging on Beso’s toes gently. 

“Perfect!” Lance exclaimed.  He let the dog go and let her run loose, which made both of them laugh when she ran right for Pidge’s non-existent gummy bear stash.  “You wanna get her some food while I go dump the water?” Lance asked.  He got to his feet and heaved the water up, settling it on his hip. 

“Yeah, where’s the food?” Pidge asked.

“Under my bed in the big yellow box,” Lance said.  Pidge pulled out a can, which made Beso yelp.  Lance shushed her as he headed for the door.  “Stay with Pidge, _bebe_.  He’s gonna feed you and I’ll be right back!”  Beso whined and wagged her tail, padding over to Lance.  “No, no, no, Beso.  Got to Pidge; he has your food!  Go to Daddy!”

“ _Daddy_?” Pidge protested.  She fought the blush that pushed forward.  No way was she gonna be _Daddy_. 

“Why wouldn’t you be her Daddy?  Hunk already claimed weird uncle status; there’s no way he’s gonna give up his title!”

Pidge sighed and stared down at the dog.  She guessed there were worse fates she could’ve had, but she really wished she were Momma rather than _Daddy_.  Nevertheless, Lance just claimed that they were the parents of this dog…

…did he just imply anything?  Or was Pidge being too hopeful?

Beso whined and pawed at the can in Pidge’s hand.  “Oh, right, I gotta feed you…” Pidge said mainly to herself.  She scooped out the whole can onto the ceramic dish meant for the dog, then added four mini oreos on top just so Beso would eat the whole dinner.

She wondered if they were to have any other pets, would those also become exclusively _their_ “children,” and the thought made Pidge giggle wildly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea what happened here this wasn't the planned ending but I just started thinking about Rover being their Space Beso and this ending somehow came out of that.
> 
> Also, sorry the chapter is so short!


End file.
